Brandi Carlile begins her new album with a verse raising the issue of mortality, and the question of what a godly design for these fleeting lives might be, if any at all. “Is there some freewheeling watcher / Shooting marbles in the sky?” she asks as the title track starts to unfold. “Holding your years between their fingers / Watching it burn ‘til the fire dies.” No, fans don’t have to listen long to learn: The themes are not going to be especially trivial on “Returning to Myself,” her eighth and possibly most moving solo release.

If you had to boil the record down, you might get away with summarizing it this way: Even bigger picture, slightly smaller sound. This much is guaranteed for most any listener: You will spend a good amount of time following lyrical prompts to think about what

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