My Echo

On Valentine's Day 2020, Veirs released the song "I Was a Fool";^[3] the song discusses her divorce as do the tracks on My Echo. Veirs calls My Echo "an album about disintegration".^[4] The album was produced with longtime collaborator and Veirs' ex-husband Tucker Martine and was preceded by music videos for "Burn Too Bright" in July^[5] and "Turquoise Walls" in August.^[2]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Album of the Year	80 out of 100[6]
AnyDecentMusic?	7.4 out of 10[7]
Metacritic	84 out of 100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Exclaim!	8 out of 10[10]
Financial Times	[11]
MusicOMH	[12]
Paste	7.7 out of 10[13]
Slant Magazine	[14]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, My Echo received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 from eight critic scores.^[8] Album of the Year sums up critical consensus as an 80 out of 100 based on five reviews^[6] and AnyDecentMusic? considers My Echo a 7.4 out of 10, also based on five reviewers.^[7]

Sara Chodos of Exclaim! gave the release an eight out of 10, praising the diversity of musicianship and instrumentation.^[10] In New Statesman, Ellen Perison-Hagger declared Veirs "one of the greatest living American songwriters" for her ability to use music as catharsis.^[15] Maeri Ferguson of No Depression's review emphasized the solitude in the album's lyrics and the Veirs' "stunningly spare" vocals, especially paired with Jim James.^[16] In a 7.7 out of 10 review for Paste, Ben Salmon points out Veirs' comforting confronting the unknown in her lyrics as her personal relationship was deteriorating during recording.^[13] Steve Horowitz of PopMatters discusses this disintegration and the "claustrophobic themes of confinement" in his review, ending it: "Love can't conquer all. Some disasters are just too big, and we end up singing to ourselves. That's why there is music."^[17] Eric Mason of Slant Magazine considers the recording "an act of self-preservation" in a "backdrop of hopelessness brought about by personal heartbreak and global disasters".^[14] In Financial Times, David Chesal gave My Echo four out of five stars for "a break-up album [that is] remarkably easy to listen to".^[11] Ben Hogwood of musicOMH gave My Echo the same rating, noting the highly skilled musicians and summing up that this album is "sometimes difficult but never less than involving".^[12]

Samantha Small of Under the Radar reviewed "Burn Too Bright" upon its release, naming it one of the songs of the week.^[18] Concluding the review for AllMusic, Mark Deming claimed that "My Echo creates beauty out of fear and uncertainty, and it's among Laura Veirs' most personal and satisfying works to date."^[9]

1. "Freedom Feeling" – 3:19
2. "Another Space and Time" – 4:40
3. "Turquoise Walls" – 2:39
4. "Memaloose Island" – 3:34
5. "End Times" – 3:06
6. "Burn Too Bright" – 2:59
7. "Brick Layer" – 2:30
8. "All the Things" – 3:27
9. "I Sing to the Tall Man" – 3:09
10. "Vapor Trails" – 4:31