Sugar on Blackstone

Number 19 in Rough Trade's Albums of the Year 2026. Explore the full ranked Top 100. Shop the Albums of the Year Exclusives.

Albums of the Year 2026: Explore Downers on Blackstone, our selected AOTY edition companion release by Kristin Hersh.

A darker yet delicately rendered work from Kristin Hersh, Sugar On Blackstone explores life and death, enrichment and poverty, and the small but defining moments of childhood that continue to echo through adult life. Deeply personal and emotionally expansive, the album reflects on the lasting bonds between musicians, family and friends, and the way certain sounds, places and memories can suddenly bring someone vividly back into focus.

Recorded at Stable Sound Studios earlier this year, Hersh is joined by longtime collaborators Rob Ahlers (50FOOTWAVE) on drums and cellist Pete Harvey (Throwing Muses). The result is a stark yet warm collection of songs that balances fragility with force, intimacy with tension.

A poignant and expansive record that radiates strength in vulnerability, Sugar On Blackstone stands as another essential entry in Kristin Hersh’s acclaimed and ever-evolving body of work.