★★★★★
In what is a stunning Album of the Year contender, Ben Kweller’s “Cover the Mirrors” is a devastatingly personal album released on May 30, 2025 — his late son Dorian’s 19th birthday. Written after Dorian’s tragic passing in 2023 due to a car accident, the album is Kweller’s first full-length release in years and his most emotionally resonant to date. It’s both an elegy and a testament to resilience, shaped by collaborations with artists like Waxahatchee, Coconut Records, MJ Lenderman, The Flaming Lips — and even Dorian himself.
Overall Impressions
This is Kweller at his most open and unguarded. The record travels through grief in all its jagged phases: numbness, rage, love, laughter, and guilt. Sonically, it ranges from fuzzy punk to ambient folk to buzzing synth psychedelia. Yet every track feels of one piece. Every lyric sounds lived, not written.
At its heart, “Cover the Mirrors” is about trying to survive the unthinkable — and, somehow, making music beautiful enough to carry it.
Track Highlights & Lyrics
Going Insane
A swirling, unsteady opener that captures the mental fragmentation of grief. It’s full of surreal, jumbled imagery, like a mind ricocheting between memories and emotional static.
Dollar Store (feat. Waxahatchee)
One of the most emotionally nuanced tracks. It opens with quiet detachment:
“Call it a day. Walking away. We hide, so we stay inside.”
These lines evoke the paralysis of grief— how easy it is to disappear into routine and avoidance.
Later, the chorus reveals a deeper longing:
“I’m looking for some motivation, I dunno what I’m looking for… All that you want and more, more‑more‑more‑more‑more.”
The song slowly builds from a gentle strum into a cathartic wave of distortion, with Waxahatchee’s voice layering beautifully against Kweller’s. It’s an emotional breakthrough disguised as a slow burn.
Trapped
Co-written with his son Dorian this haunting song explores emotional captivity—not in a toxic relationship, but in memory and grief.
“You trap me every time. Now I’m gone, yeah I’m free. But I wish you were with me.”
This was a hard one for Kweller to finish, but it had to be done. It nagged at me,” he says. “Just this sadness that it would never see the light of day, that he never got to finish such an incredible song.” Kweller wrote the second verse and helped smooth the chorus.
Park Harvey Fire Drill
An all-acoustic, lovely, cinematic, but slightly off-kilter track.
“She’s anti-social-media
All of them likes just make you greedier
There’s no need to be needier…“I’m just glad I don’t have to talk to
I’m just glad I don’t have to talk to
Anyone.
I’m just glad I don’t have to talk to
I’m just glad I don’t have to talk to
Anyone.”
Depression (feat. Coconut Records)
A vulnerable, melodic breakdown dressed up in bright production.
“I used to think that I was strong and tough, but I can’t even get through the day.”
The contrast between confessional lyrics and catchy instrumentation creates a tension that feels all too real. But it’s a gorgeous song.
Optimystic
A sarcastic, punk-fueled anthem of self-medication and defiance. The mention of “Pill-popionaire” is shorthand for chemically managing pain. It’s darkly funny and furiously alive. “Happiness! Wanna die. Death Kiss. Get High. Stay High! Close your heart. Back to start. And your brains go! Pow! I’m not optimystic now, I’m not optimystic now.”
Killer Bee (feat. The Flaming Lips)
A buzzing, psychedelic trip into anxiety and overstimulation. Layers of synths swarm (courtesy of The Flaming Lips, presumably) like thoughts that won’t settle. Hypnotic and slightly menacing. “It’s hard to tell if it’s any good. It’s rude to yell but I wish I would. I’d sing every word if I only could. That’s what I get for being misunderstood.”
Letter to Agony
A stark emotional dump that feels like a page torn from a midnight journal.
“All of the toxic waste spewing from me tonight, I fear there’s no end in sight.… Now I’m no longer scared to die. Just please bury me where you will be. Next to you for eternity.”
No polish, no pretense — just raw truth.
Oh Dorian (feat. MJ Lenderman)
The emotional center of the album, which ends it. A tribute to his son that feels more like a lullaby than a goodbye.
“Crystal child, double-Gemini / A million songs in his head…”
“Watch him glow and radiate / When he walks through the door…”
“Oh Dorian, where did you go? Oh Dorian, please let me know. Oh Dorian, my best friend.
But I can’t wait to hang with you again.”
It’s tender, painful, and filled with pride.
Final Thoughts
“Cover the Mirrors” isn’t about resolution — it’s about reflection. There’s no sense of closure here, just clarity. The grief doesn’t end, but it finds new forms: poetry, noise, silence.
Songs like Dollar Store and Trapped reveal how complex grief can be — sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, sometimes both at once. Knowing that Dorian helped shape some of these melodies makes the entire album feel like a father-son duet across time.
This is Kweller’s most essential work: brave, broken, but most of all, beautiful.
Chris Garrod, July 3, 2025
Dedicated to my dear friend, Barb MacLean, who just passed away. To contribute and help, please use the following links: https://www.gofundme.com/f/barb-maclean and https://www.bonfire.com/fintech-tribute-t-shirt-her-song-lives-on/