The Medicine Show deals with universal themes of renewal, reconciliation, reckoning, compassion and, most profoundly, healing. Through the songs Etheridge processed the deep fears and hurting she saw in the nation on collective and personal levels; “Shaking” about national anxiety, “Here Comes The Pain,” personalizing the opioid crisis, the unifying “Human Chain” about the hope for healing, and the rocking, anthemic “Love Will Live.” More highlights include the album-closer, “Last Hello” drawing on the incredible strengths and courage shown by the survivors of the Parkland school shootings, and the infectious “Wild And Lonely,” and “Faded By Design,” exploring themes of her past with a new perspective.