User:Arms & Hearts/Daughter of Swords

Daughter of Swords is the folk music side-project of the American musician Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, best known as a member of the band Mountain Man. Sauser-Monnig released her solo album as Daughter of Swords, entitled Dawnbreaker, in 2019.

Background
After nearly 10 years away from Mountain Man, Sauser-Monnig began to record solo material; before Dawnbreaker was completed, however, Mountain Man regrouped to record Magic Ship (2018). Having originally planned to use only vocals and guitar, on returning to Dawnbreaker Sauser-Monnig worked with Nick Sanborn of the electropo duo Sylvan Esso to incorporate other instrumentation. The songs "Grasses" and "Long Leaf Pine" also feature vocals by Mountain Man's Amelia Meath and Molly Sarlé. The name "Daughter of Swords" refers to a tarot card, which Sauser-Monnig describes as "sort of a card about not letting things that have inhibited you in the past stand in your way as you move forward into your future."

Dawnbreaker (2019)
Dawnbreaker, Daughter of Swords' debut album, was released by Bella Union on June 28, 2019. It was preceded by the single "Gem".

Pitchfork's Linnie Greene described the album as "a 10-song homage to the betwixt and between of a relationship in its twilight," consisting of "folksy riffs on well-trod terrain—heartbreak, confusion, hope that looks like the horizon on an open highway". Greene identified "Long Leaf Pine" as "the record’s highest achievement" and commented: "Its hardly a new vista, but Sauser-Monnig’s intimate, earthy songs make the view memorable all the same."

Bob Fish of Folk Radio UK commented that Dawnbreaker combines sadness with an emphasis on exploring new possibilities, and concluded that the album "surprises in the ability to put a positive spin onto some of life’s heartbreaking moments."