Becca Kidwell
What You Don’t See
(IDBLM)
September 4, 2026
Reviewed by John Amodeo
Seeing Becca Kidwell perform live is a delight, because her disarming dry wit and quirky sincerity envelop you and draw you in. Her new recording, What You Don’t See, gives you a taste of that, but it takes a few times of close listening. When you do that, there is a lovely payoff. For there is a story here, told through eight original songs and four by others. They are carefully chosen and thoughtfully arranged to form an arc that takes one from the vagaries of the singer’s beleaguered and aimless early adulthood through sad breakups and unwise reconciliations to self-discovery and full agency over her life. Music director Jon Weber worked with Kidwell to shape this recording, and the collaboration is fruitful. Kidwell tells us in the liner notes that approaching 50 triggered a reassessment of her life, and if this recording was born of that. Turning 50 was worth every hard knock on her journey to becoming fully realized.
There is a captivating variety in the songs here. One could say it’s a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, interspersed with folk, pop, funk, and even R&B. there is solid backup from eight band members, and a backup vocalist enriches each piece. As a singer, Kidwell is limited, but in ways that Rickie Lee Jones and Jamie Cullum are. It doesn’t matter, because like them, her voice has character, and she uses it with precision. Unlike them, her diction is impeccable, and that is key to taking this journey with her through the undulating landscape of unfamiliar lyrics.
As a lyricist, Kidwell has a unique way with words. One standout is the Adele-like folk ballad “Settle for Tears,” where the title, so unusually worded, describes a broken romance that can’t be mended because one partner won’t invest in fixing it and would rather settle for tears. Seoyeon Im’s aptly doleful violin underscoring throughout adds the poignant shades of blues and grays the song needs. Her backup vocalist Lynda DeFuria collaborated with Kidwell on the lyrics here, as she did on one of the later songs, “Let Go and Love.” This is another folk ballad with guitar and synth that could have come right out of the repertoire of Peter, Paul & Mary, with its slow, silky opening. It picks up halfway through to become an upbeat cheerleading anthem, reminiscent of “If I Had a Hammer.” This song appropriately marks the denouement of the recording, where Kidwell celebrates her moment of self-discovery and likes what she has found. This makes her free to be who she wants and love how she wants to love. Kidwell’s comic side comes through best in “Old Collagen Try,” where she struggles to come to terms with the ravages of aging. This was arranged as a marching-band fight song with pulsing horns and a steady bass-drum rhythm. Kidwell and DeFuria chant their battle cry against creasing skin, and their levity is enhanced by a kazoo interlude by the full band that hits squarely on the funny bone.
The songs by others are equally eclectic. Christine Lavin’s “It’s Your Funeral” (with new lyrics by Kidwell and Jeff Harnar) has a fun funk arrangement that is infectious once you get into its groove. “I Miss the Mountains” (Tom Kitt/Brian Yorkey) from Next to Normal hints at Kidwell’s own life struggles. It’s arranged like a country-folk song rather than a theatrical ballad. Im’s plaintive violin underscoring works beautifully here, combined with Ted Stafford’s acoustic guitar, Ray Kilday’s upright bass, and Davide Sgarra’s clarinet to give a fresh sound to a difficult story. It is worth sticking with Kidwell on this one because she really feels it. “It Was a Shit Show” (music and lyrics by Leah Brown, Aline Brosh McKenna, Jack Dolgen, and Adam Schlesinger) from the TV Series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has the wittiest lyrics. Arranged like a country ballad, it tells the story of two exes pondering a reconciliation that is a comic exercise in poor judgement. The closing number, “Make Your Own Party” (Zina Goldrich/Marcy Heisler), is worth the wait, as Kidwell celebrates her complete agency over her life with no apologies and asking no permission. This upbeat pop arrangement includes some really joyful harmony between Kidwell and DeFuria that reflects the victory of the moment, especially in the line, “Sometimes you have to write your own music. Sometimes you have to sing your own song.” Kidwell did just that and deserves to be commended and much-admired for having done so.
