There’s a reason works of art land so hard for many of us. We find something in these creations that seem to relate to our lives, our plights, and who we are personally, and it’s natural to make a connection with the creator of said pieces because they appear to be telling us a story about our own lives.

BIG|BRAVE vocalist/guitarist Robin Wattie did just that leading up to the creation of their new record “A Chaos of Flowers,” the most musically diverse of their run. She was trying to find old poems and folk traditions in the public domain, which led her to a lot of work made almost exclusively by men. Therefore, Wattie delved back into the pieces by female writers and creators who expressed their views of womanhood and helped her connect even more psychologically to those writings. Joined by her bandmates guitarist Mathieu Ball and drummer Tasy Hudson, they carved out an eight-track record that contains some of their noisier elements from past releases but also heads deeper into a more delicate path, showing a musical side we haven’t heard fully before. It’s a welcoming, jarring record that may take a few visits to blossom, but once it does, it takes on a life of its own.

“i felt a funeral” has strings stinging and Wattie’s singing fluttering, a dream state in static achieved from the start. Electrics snarl as things get meditative, bubbling and melting, delicate singing taking on a folk sense, warm fuzz lapping to the finish. “not speaking of the ways” cuts in and lets guitars build a foam, moving and lathering, emotional singing weighing on psyches. Layers are buried in psyche and bluesy heat, threatening slightly and slowly lurching, Wattie repeatedly calling out over the din, “Love and lovers,” everything blending into your mind. “chanson pour mon ombre” is French sung, dissonant guitars scraping over a bed of acoustics, noises jolting and tangling. The singing builds as sounds bustle, energies quaking and succumbing to echo. “canon : in canon” features Marisa Anderson on guitar, and from the start a warm buzz is emitted, swimming through emotion and tumult, the singing guiding as electric slowly swallow. Light hovers like an engine as the playing bends, cymbals crash, and the end draws near.

“a song for Marie part iii,” a series that started on 2014’s “Feral Verdure,” hovers in eerie sounds, guitars gently glazing, your head swimming in strangeness that leads into “theft” that opens just as ominously. The singing numbs as the playing meanders through a foggy dusk feel, coating your face with dew, guitars quivering and humming. Noise scrapes as obscured visions come to pass, sizzling in your mind and slipping into your consciousness. “quotidian : solemnity” soaks in feedback, harmonized singing adding to the atmospheric pull, pushing through interference and sounds bouncing off walls. Voices slip into your ears like a whispering ghost, the pressure pulsating before losing its intensity. Closer “moonset” is delicate and fantasy-like, the singing making the hairs on your flesh rise, steady guitars dripping. A cool desert vibe takes hold as sounds clash and mash, the heat finally rises, and all of the forces meld within slowly dissipating power.

Musically, this is the most varied and delicate BIG|BRAVE album yet, one that still holds its share of force and electric power but isn’t shy to show a delicate, reflective side. Not that we needed a breath of fresh air from this band at all, but “A Chaos of Flowers” provides just that, a record that can accompany meditation and one’s own psychological journeys. Along with this is Wattie’s own journey to find works to which she relates and that speak to her experience, which this record could be for other people looking for a resonating voice.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/bigbravemusic/

To buy the album, go here: https://thrilljockey.com/products/a-chaos-of-flowers

For more on the label, go here: https://thrilljockey.com/index