If The Stray Birds were going to make another album, there was only one way it would happen: together. The idea was at once a challenge, an ultimatum, and a survival mechanism for a band at the crossroads. Write the record collaboratively, or don t write it at all. The result is Let It Pass, their fourth album and most powerful, personal, and cathartic collection yet. The record charts the trio s tumultuous emotional journey in the years since the release of their acclaimed 2016 album Magic Fire, a period which saw de Vitry and fiddler / guitarist / mandolinist / vocalist Oliver Craven end their romantic relationship while choosing to continue their musical one. Along with bassist / banjoist / vocalist Charlie Muench, the pair had to face down an uncertain future and reevaluate what it meant to create art together.