MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER

The Age of Miracles

[Real World]

Is there a songwriter who needed a dose of big-picture perspective less than Mary Chapin Carpenter? Even her 1990s country-pop hits practically defied radio with their profundity. Nevertheless, The Age of Miracles explores the emotional aftermath of a pulmonary embolism that nearly killed Carpenter in 2007. “Everything that you know can disappear,” she muses on “Iceland,” while the upbeat finale promises, “The radio playing ‘I Won’t Back Down’/Baby, that’s about the way I feel.” Despite its very personal genesis, the album looks outside almost as much as in, imagining the reflections of a soldier at Tiananmen Square (“4 June 1989”), as well as those of  “Mrs. Hemingway.” Like the work of Mr. Hemingway, Carpenter’s lyrics can be deceptively simple, darker truths rewarding only repeated exposure. The Age of Miracles is not an easy listen on any level, but the endeavor is worthwhile as ever.

–Katie Dodd