Workin' on a World is a 2023 studio album by American singer-songwriter Iris DeMent. The album explores political and religious themes, discussing activism and hope for the future; it has received positive reviews from critics.

Recording and release
DeMent was inspired to write her first new music in several years after the 2016 United States presidential election and her engagement with activism and political music, such as the 2017 song “We Won’t Keep Quiet”. After going to the studio in 2019, she felt the music was not working as an album and shelved the recordings, only to have her stepdaughter Pieta Brown encourage her to finish them. A few sessions in 2022 completed the music and she debuted the title track in January 2023 before the album's released the following month.

Reception

Editors of AnyDecentMusic? rated this album 7.6 out of 10, based on five reviews. Workin' on a World received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on seven reviews.

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Timothy Monger claimed; "On Workin', the veteran singer/songwriter returns to her country gospel wheelhouse with renewed purpose to deliver a collection that is as timely as it is timeless. In a broad sense, she has made a protest album, one which speaks to present-day issues (gun violence, police brutality, climate change) in a way that inspires activism rather than despair." Jim Hynes of Glide Magazine calls this release "one powerful, deep dose of positivity, purposely overstated, with the whole bigger than any single song". In The New Yorker, David Cantwell explored the political music dimension of DeMent's songwriting, writing that "she has never sung so freely before". Stephen Deusner profiled the musician for The New York Times upon release and characterizes this as "an album about DeMent’s ongoing quest to find her place, about passing the wisdom of the generation that came before her to the one that follows" and "full of what might be called marching songs, which are meant to inspire listeners, to show them the hard road ahead and to spur them along". Ann Powers of NPR reviewed the title track and noted its religious themes, writing that the song is "a hallelujah for the good done by those who lay the path toward good even if they may not walk its full length". Writing for Pitchfork, Sam Sodomsky rated this release 8.0 out of 10, writing that decades into her career, "DeMent has found new ways to reach higher ground". Steve Horowitz of PopMatters also gave an 8 out of 10, writing that she "sings from the heart" on "songs [that] are powerful statements of love and indictments of bad behavior". Editors of Rolling Stone highlighted this release with the Hear This branding and critic Jonathan Bernstein wrote that her music has "rarely felt so urgent" and while the singer "is bold enough to risk corniness" in exploring genuine political conviction, "these messages of spirit-rising and movement-building feel less like MSNBC screeds than warm invitations toward a righteous calling".

In a mid-year review, Rolling Stone India included the release in their list of the "best albums of 2023 so far".

Track listing

All songs written by Iris DeMent, except where noted
"Workin’ on a World" – 3:49
"Goin’ Down to Sing in Texas" – 8:06
"Say a Good Word" – 4:56
"The Sacred Now" (Pieta Brown and DeMent) – 4:12
"I Won’t Ask You Why" (P. Brown and DeMent) – 4:02
"Warriors of Love" – 5:40
"Let Me Be Your Jesus" (Greg Brown and DeMent) – 3:59
"The Cherry Orchard" – 4:13
"Nothin’ for the Dead" – 3:38
"Mahalia" – 5:03
"How Long" – 4:04
"Walkin’ Daddy" (G. Brown) – 6:30
"Waycross, Georgia" (G. Brown and Samuel E. Mann) – 4:30

Personnel

"Workin' on a World"
Recorded at Alex the Great Studios
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, harmony vocals, production
Roland Barber – trombone
Richard Bennett – guitar, production
Pieta Brown – production
Chris Donohue – bass
John Fumo – trumpet
Jim Hoke – saxophone
Brad Jones – recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
"Goin' Down to Sing in Texas"
Recorded at Alex the Great Studios
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, production
Richard Bennett – guitar, production
Pieta Brown – production
Chris Donohue – bass
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Brad Jones – Hammond B3 electric organ, recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
"Say a Good Word"
Recorded at Alex the Great Studios
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, harmony vocals, production
Richard Bennett – guitar, production
Pieta Brown – harmony vocals, production
Chris Donohue – bass
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Brad Jones – recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
"The Sacred Now"
Recorded at Alex the Great Studios
Iris DeMent – vocals, harmony vocals, production
Richard Bennett – electric guitar, 12-string guitar, production
Pieta Brown – vocals, harmony vocals, production
Chris Donohue – bass
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Brad Jones – Hammond B3 electric organ, recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
"I Won't Ask You Why"
Recorded at Cowboy Arms Hotel & Recording Spa
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, production
Richard Bennett – guitar
Pieta Brown – piano, vocals
Cameron Davidson – recording
Chris Donohue – bass
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Mark Howard – guitar
Brad Jones – additional recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
Jim Rooney – production
"Warriors of Love"
Recorded at Alex the Great Studios
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, production
Richard Bennett – guitar, production
Pieta Brown – production
Chris Donohue – bass
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Brad Jones – recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
"Let Me Be Your Jesus"
Recorded at Alex the Great Studios
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, production
Richard Bennett – guitar, production
Pieta Brown – production
Chris Donohue – bass
John Fumo – flugelhorn
Brad Jones – recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
"The Cherry Orchard"
Recorded at Cowboy Arms Hotel & Recording Spa
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, production
Cameron Davidson – recording
Chris Donohue – bass
Mark Howard – guitar, mandolin
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Brad Jones – additional recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
Jim Rooney – production
"Nothin' for the Dead"
Recorded at Cowboy Arms Hotel & Recording Spa
Iris DeMent – vocals, production
Roland Barber – trombone
Richard Bennett – guitar, production
Pieta Brown – production
Cameron Davidson – recording
Chris Donohue – bass
John Fumo – trumpet
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Jim Hoke – saxophone
Mark Howard – guitar
Brad Jones – additional recording, mixing
Phil Madeira – Wurlitzer electric piano
Bryan Owings – percussion
Jim Rooney – production
"Mahalia"
Recorded at Alex the Great Studios
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, production
Richard Bennett – guitar, production
Pieta Brown – production
Chris Donohue – bass
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Brad Jones – Hammond B3 electric organ, recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
"How Long"
Recorded at Cowboy Arms Hotel & Recording Spa
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, production
Cameron Davidson – recording
Chris Donohue – bass
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Mark Howard – guitar
Brad Jones – additional recording, mixing
Phil Madeira – Hammond B3 electric organ
Bryan Owings – percussion
Jim Rooney – production
"Walkin' Daddy"
Recorded at Alex the Great Studios
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, production
Richard Bennett – guitar, production
Pieta Brown – production
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Chris Donohue – bass
Brad Jones – recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
Marty Stuart – mandolin
"Waycross, Georgia"
Recorded at Cowboy Arms Hotel & Recording Spa
Iris DeMent – piano, vocals, production
Roland Barber – trombone
Richard Bennett – acoustic high string and Tic Tac bass guitars, production
Pieta Brown – production
Cameron Davidson – recording
Chris Donohue – bass
John Fumo – trumpet
Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar
Jim Hoke – saxophone
Mark Howard – guitar
Brad Jones – additional recording, mixing
Bryan Owings – percussion
Jim Rooney – production

Technical personnel
Iris DeMent – interior photography
Jim DeMain – mastering at YesMaster Studios, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Ingrid Weise – cover photo and design

See also
List of 2023 albums

References

External links

Review from Folk Alley
Review from Holler Country

2023 albums
Albums produced by Jim Rooney (music)
Albums produced by Pieta Brown
Albums produced by Richard Bennett (guitarist)
Iris DeMent albums
Political music albums by American artists