Sheryl Crow’s New Album Explores Healing After Isolation: Review

On her previous album, 2024’s Evolution, Sheryl Crow set out to make a 21st-century statement about her career and the state of the world for her first album since turning 60 in 2022. It was also her first release since COVID-19 and the announcement that 2019’s country-rock Threads would be her final album. It became her first album not to chart on the Billboard 200.

Rebounding with her 12th LP, Pick You Up, Crow returns to a more comfortable environment. Originally intended to be a six-song EP, the project expanded to album length with an additional track, “Freedom Bus,” that continues the discussion about the U.S. and its relation to the rest of the world in 2026: “If all you can come up with is hate / Then turn around and march the other way,” she sings. “Don’t be an asshole / Let everyone be.“

Mostly, though, Pick You Up is about healing and advocates for connection in these tempestuous times. “It’s always after midnight / A lonely voice is heard / Echo through the backyards / Disappearing without a word,” she sings over weeping pedal steel in the leisurely moving opening song, “Freight Train,” reflecting universal, post-COVID isolation.

READ MORE: 2026 Album Reviews

A political thread runs through the Americana-leaning Pick You Up, but it’s linked by the human spirit’s will to cope rather than to finger-pointing, though the implications are clear. “I’ve Got Your Number” and “Heaven Help Us” are two views of the same conversation, observing the walls between people while searching for common ground. Crow is hopeful, though.

Watch Sheryl Crow’s Video for ‘Freedom Bus’ Featuring Jesse Welles

At 25 minutes, Pick You Up can feel more like a quickly assembled record made from what was available as completed songs than like a definitive statement. There’s also a tentativeness, perhaps stemming from her premature album-retirement notice seven years ago, adding to this. But Crow lines her 12th album with purpose, as outlined in the title track: “When you start losing touch or if you’re stuck in a rut, you know I’ll pick you up.” Let the healing begin.

Dove Shore