It’s been 20 years since Brandi Carlile released her self-titled debut album. After two decades of extensive collaborations and accolades for her music that blends folk, alt-country, rock and Americana, she’s stripped back again for the great “Returning to Myself.”

What the title means for Carlile varies across the project. Just months after her buzzy collaborative album with Elton John , and years after the debut of her Americana supergroup t he Highwomen , Carlile’s vocals stand alone again – save the occasional backing vocal from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon . That pensive performance takes on many forms: reflective, on “You Without Me,” about watching her children grow and become independent, and soulful, on “A Woman Oversees,” her rich tone heard above the electric notes of a Rho

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