The Lumineers III album review

The Lumineer’s third studio album titled III is not just a an album. It’s a musical, artistic puzzle and short movie, all packaged into one. In III, the Lumineers tackle addiction emphatically, from a very deeper place inside heart. The album presents us three characters dealing with an emotional turmoil that results due to addiction, drugs or alcohol.

The Lumineers present us three characters in three acts in III. Gloria Sparks, Jimmy Sparks (Gloria’s son), Junior Sparks (Jimmy’s son). Each character is presented through three tracks, which also mention other characters

In an interview with NPR, Wes Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, the founding duo of The Lumineers, have revealed how they both had first-hand experience in seeing how addicts hurt themselves and others around them. Jeremiah Fraites’ brother was addicted to PCP and ended up drinking a drain cleaner that resulted in his death three months later. Wes Schultz has revealed in another interview with Times UK: “Gloria is real, and she’s close to me. The reason I created characters around her was to give me a buffer to be explicit without exploiting her pain.”

The Lumineers III is cinematic and spiritual art

‘Donna’ is the mother of Gloria. Donna is a struggling alcohol addict who transfers her addiction and low self-esteem to her daughter. Donna is a heartbreaking ballad that introduces the three primary characters of the album. Her lack of control over her addiction is reflected in the next song, ‘Life in the City,’ where we see a young Gloria struggling with cocaine addiction and casual sex with strangers.

In musical terms, Gloria sounds like the sad twin of The Lumineer’s other hit ‘Ophelia’ from Cleopatra album. While Ophelia paints a beautiful picture of its lead, Gloria paints a sad picture of the lead with the same musical intensity and vocal dexterity. Gloria herself is a young mother struggling with alcohol addiction, just like Donna was. The song depicts her inability to be a good mother to Jimmy. Living in the house her parents have built, ‘Gloria’ captures the turbulent melancholic life set against the backdrop of a green rural background.

The Lumineers have released six videos for the first six tracks, and more videos will probably be released. These videos all combined show a tragic tale of addiction that has been passed over from one generation to another. With III, The Lumineers have found a way to channel the emotional turmoil and express it through music and visually. The Lumineer’s III was screened at Toronto International Film Festival as a short movie in early September 2019.

‘It wasn’t Easy to be Happy for You’ introduces the Junior sparks and his flame. ‘Leader of the Landslide’ reveals that Junior has broken up with her and it also shows how Junior’s father himself is struggling to be a good father while ghosts from his father’s past show up at their home without announcement.

Through Junior’s eyes we see Jimmy’s crazy friends and cocaine fueled behavior. Jimmy isn’t what he comes across and he will never be the father Junior expects him to be. To add to his father’s behavior, Junior has trouble forgetting his crush, probably first. In ‘Left for Denver’ it is revealed that Junior’s mother has abandoned him and his father to start all over again. The rest of the album details how Junior continues to struggle by following the broken advice given by his father.

Writing more about this album isn’t useful. III is something intangible which has to be experienced. The Lumineers have put up a detailed note and backstory of the album on their website.

The Lumineer’s III shows music is not just for singing and dancing, but also as a therapeutic tool that brings people together. To give you another good reason to listen to this album, there are three bonus tracks with the song ‘Democracy’ providing commentary about the current state of affairs in the US. Powered by piano keys, guitar strings and Wes Schultz’s inimitable and inherently tragic voice, The Lumineers III is a cinematic and spiritual art for music lovers.

Musicjo Rating: 8.5/10

If you liked The Lumineers III review, read latest album reviews on Musicjo:

*Support Musicjo through Patreon*

Become a Patron!

Lumineers III Tracklist