“This album feels like the most important creative outpouring of my life so far,” Allison Pierce says of her solo debut, Year of the Rabbit (Sony Masterworks), produced by Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Ray LaMontagne, Paul McCartney). “It feels like the most genuine expression of who I am, musically and personally.”

The new album is Allison’s first as a solo artist, following two decades of recording and performing with her sister Catherine as The Pierces. The duo’s five albums and constant tours brought them critical acclaim and a loyal fanbase, especially in Britain. But as the years passed, each longed to express herself unfettered by the other, and in August 2015, The Pierces decided to take a break, whereupon the sisters launched solo careers.

“When you’re in a group with another person, there’s always compromise,” says Allison. “There were amazing times, and there were some really challenging times—probably some of the most challenging times in my life. You know that saying from Proverbs, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another’? That’s what it felt like. Now, we’re both free to finally express exactly who we are.

"Year Of The Rabbit" is out on Sony Masterworks May 5. Debut single coming soon.