Fifteen years after her last solo record, Amy Millan returns with I Went to Find You, an intimate, carefully layered album shaped by loss, memory, and quiet resilience. Co-written and produced with composer Jay McCarrol, the record trades in the kinds of subtle arrangements and understated emotion that don’t immediately demand attention, but reward close listening.
The album opens with “Untethered,” where Millan’s voice floats above a mellow reverb guitar and a slow-moving piano arrangement. It’s a spare and restrained introduction that sets the tone: this is not a record of spectacle, but of reflection. “Wire Walks” is one of the more striking songs here. Its circular rhythm, underpinned by a muted loop and pillowy synth textures, mirrors the emotional terrain Millan is tracing—anxiety, ambivalence, and the sense that, despite age and experience, the ground can still shift beneath your feet. She sings not with drama but with clarity, and the subtle tension in the arrangement never resolves fully, which feels intentional. On “The Overpass,” she reaches further back, recalling youth with a sharp eye and steady voice. A slightly more propulsive track, it carries a low-level hum of electricity beneath McCarrol’s piano chords and Evan Cranley’s bass and brass contributions. The song’s portrait of emotional fragility, of half-remembered arguments and missed signals, lands without sentimentality.
“Kiss That Summer” is among the most direct and melodic moments on the album. Here, Millan leans into the pop instincts that powered her work in Stars, but filters them through a more lived-in, understated lens. What could’ve been a simple nostalgia piece is complicated by lines that suggest the past isn’t only sweet. “Make Way for Waves,” co-written with Chris Seligman, moves gently but steadily, carried by wavering guitars and a rhythm that never settles entirely. It’s one of the album’s most well-constructed pieces, balancing atmosphere with motion. Meanwhile, “Murmurations” stands out for its lyrical clarity—a song about the ache of distant friendships and unspoken departures, rendered with grace and without self-pity. The album ends on “Lost River Diamonds,” an instrumental piece that distills the record’s themes into pure texture. Strings, light piano, and ambient elements circle one another in a way that feels both unresolved and peaceful.
Throughout I Went to Find You, Millan avoids big gestures. These songs aren’t about transformation or closure—they’re about staying with the feeling, even when it’s unresolved. The melodies are subtle, the lyrics unforced, and the arrangements are designed to serve the voice rather than embellish it. Rather than chasing grand statements, Millan focuses on what’s right in front of her: memory, distance, and the strange weight of time. The result is a quiet, focused record that earns its depth through patience.
