Widdershins (album)

The album was recorded over a four-day period at the Sound Emporium in Nashville, Tennessee.[1] It was mixed by Tucker Martine and engineered by Mike Stankiewicz.[9]

Widdershins was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 78, based on 8 reviews.[5] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 78 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 5 reviews.[2]

Mark Deming of AllMusic said the album "is full of joy and purpose, and Phillips has married them to a great set of hooky tunes with a folk-rock slant. He hasn't entirely abandoned the moody undertow that's always been a part of his music, but the unspoken message behind these songs is that this is not a time to brood, and Phillips has rarely sounded quite this lively and direct."[3] Chris Roberts from Classic Rock said: "Whether it’s sideways social comment blazing with guitars, or poignant self-reflection with undulating melodies, this showcases his soulful, vulnerable voice, which never fails to catch every colour in a song. Locating the sweet spot where spontaneity and polish meet, Widdershins swings in all the right directions."[6]