On September 13, 2019, The Lumineers—an indie band most known for their hit song “Ho Hey”—dropped a new album after 4 years without releasing music. This new record, “III,” is divided into three parts; each part explores different members of the “Sparks” family. The Sparks family is a fictional family developed by The Lumineers as a representation of their situations growing up in households with family members dealing with alcoholism. Throughout the album, they trace the cycle of addiction describing how alcoholism is a progressive disease. In part one, there is one track called “Gloria,” named after a member of the family with severe addiction. This particular song illustrates the constant struggle with the disease and the lyrics to the songs in this album are raw, leaving nothing to be sugar-coated which I really enjoyed.

 “Gloria, I smell it on your breath

Gloria, booze and peppermint

Gloria, no one said enough is enough

Gloria, they found you on the floor

Gloria, my hand was tied to yours

And, Gloria, did you finally see that enough is enough?”

The Lumineers shining a light on something that is often ignored in music is powerful.”With drug addiction or alcoholism it really affects the individual and then it has a sort of fallout effect —similar to the effects of a radiation bomb. Over time and over years and years, it continually tends to affect people’s loved ones,” said Jeremiah Fraites, the band’s drummer in an interview with NPR.

I’ve always been a Lumineers fan. I own every single song by them, and I was ecstatic when they came out with a new album. Personally, I have thoroughly enjoyed the new Lumineers album because of its unique sound, and powerful lyrics. It is both personal and beautiful, leaving me always wanting to listen to more of the album. The album is like nothing I have ever listened to before, and I think that’s why I appreciate it so much. The authenticity is rare, and will forever be a top album of mine.