Best of 2024: Adrianne Lenker "Bright Future" (2024)

Bright Future

release date: Mar. 22, 2024

format: vinyl / digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]

producer: Philip Weinrobe

label: 4AD - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Real House" (4 / 5) - 2. "Sadness as a Gift" (live from Greenwich Village with Nick Hakim) - 4. "No Machine" - 5. "Free Treasure" (live on The Tonight Show)- 6. "Vampire Empire" - 8. "Candleflame" - 9. "Already Lost" - 10. "Cell Phone Says" - 11. "Donut Seam" - 12. "Ruined" (live from Greenwich Village with Nick Hakim)

Studio album by Adrianne Lenker in between albums with Big Thief, and most recently the band released the acclaimed Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (Feb. 2022). Lenker's most recent solo album was Songs & Instrumentals (Oct. 2020), and this new collection is more like her other solo efforts, more naked, more clean folk and singer / songwriter-oriented. That said, Bright Future contains other performers than Lenker's vocal on top of a lonesome strumming guitar as was the case on her quiet 2020 album. It's still not in the same fully-bodied arrangements as you'll find on albums by Big Thief - only "Vampire Empire" sounds like a song written with the band in mind as the instrumentation appear to be similar with violin, piano, percussion, banjo, guitar, and harmony vocals, but generally, the songs here are played in a much more subtle fashion, as only to turn focus on Lenker's narratives.

Bright Future is so far easily this year's best album and highly recommended.

[ Mojo 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,4 / 10, Exclaim! 9 / 10 stars ]

[ bandcamp ]

2024 Favourite releases: 1. Adrienne Lenker Bright Future - 2. Hurray for the Riff-Raff The Past Is Still Alive - 3. Cassandra Jenkins My Light, My Destroyer

Big Thief "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You" (2022)

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

release date: Feb. 11, 2022

format: vinyl 2lp (gatefold) / digital (20 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]

producer: James Krivchenia

label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Change" - 3. "Spud Infinity" (4 / 5) (live) - 4. "Certainty" - 5. "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You" - 6. "Sparrow" - 7. "Little Things" (live) - 10. "Blurred View" - 14. "Wake Me up to Drive" - 16. "12,000 Lines" - 17. "Simulation Swarm" (4 /5) (live) - 19. "The Only Place" - 20. "Blue Lightning"

5th studio album by US folk rock quartet Big Thief is the follow-up to the 2019-album Two Hands, the band's second on 4AD. So far, the band is the same solid ensemble, who have played together under the moniker since 2015 without major changes in a line-up, who all frequented Boston Berklee College of Music, although, they first materialsed as Big Thief following their final exams. Only the function as the band's drummer has changed hands over the years - on the debut Masterpiece (2016) the drummer was Jason Burger, on on that the band's future drummer James Krivchenia is credited as sound technician and 'additional producer', and apart from handling drums on this new one he is also credited as producer. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter Adrianne Lenker, guitarist and vocalist Buck Meek, bassist and keyboardist Max Oleartchik, and drummer James Krivchenia. Since the 2019-album, Lenker has released the fine acoustic double album Songs and Instrumentals, also via 4AD. Lenker is furthermore credited the cover art, she's sound engineer, and together with Krivchenia, she's credited mixing of the album.

Stylewise, their music is often labeled indie rock, and indie seems like a fair desciption but it's obviously more folk rock-founded with elements from alt. country and a new folk-tradition, which seems like a common ground for Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, Grand Archives etc., who all have listened to Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Nick Drake and the likes without necessarily thinking 'Dylan', as many earlier folk-artists found their inspiration in. Perhaps, Johnny Cash is more likely as another source of inspiration. Lenker writes and sings in a highly original style about obscure characters and peculiar observations. At times she share vocal clour with both Martha Wainwright and Lucinda Williams while her narratives often point to similarities with Mark Kozelek's wondrous daily routines. Musically, Big Thief may also have listened to both Kozelek, Sun Kil Moon and Grant-Lee Phillips. In that respect the band is clearly founded in an American music tradition with input from folk, country and a modern singer / songwriter context. Now and then, the band adjoins other stylistic domains without deviating from their personal expression, but here and there you may come to think Pixies, Modest Mouse or The National as other sources of inspiration.

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You consists of 20 tracks with a total running time just over 80 minutes - yet it comes as a regular cd-version and as a double vinyl, as well as in digital format via the band's bandcamp-profile.

The album offers original and varied music, and it's such a skilfully crafted and seamless release that it's almost bound to end up in my top-3 list for the year. It's a remarkable effort and the band's finest, and it's highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👍NME, Mojo 4 / 5, Pitchfork, Needledrop 9.0 / 10, Uncut 4,5 / 5 stars ]

2022 Favourite releases: 1. Hurray for the Riff Raff Life on Earth - 2. Big Thief Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You - 3. Band of Horses Things Are Great

Adrianne Lenker "Songs & Instrumentals" (2020)

Songs & Instrumentals

release date: Oct. 23, 2020

format: 2cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]

producer: Phil Weinrobe

label: 4AD - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Two Reverse" - 2. "Ingydar" - 3. "Anything" - 4. "Forwards Beckon Rebound" - 5. "Heavy Focus" - 6. "Half Return" - 8. "Zombie Girl" - 9. "Not a Lot, Just Forever" - 10. "Dragon Eyes" - 13. "Music for Indigo"

Double solo album by Adrianne Lenker from the New York-based band Big Thief following the release of Big Thief's 2019 album Two Hands (Oct. 2019) for which Lenker single-handedly wrote and composed nearly all songs much to the usual tradition within the band. Songs & Instrumentals has been issued as double album in vinyl and cd formats and then it also exists as two single albums released in digital formats via bandcamp.com. Thing is, "Songs" is the title of the vocal side of the album (running 40:15 minutes) and "Instrumentals", well yes, it goes to show - and apart from that, this 'second part' only consists of two compositions - here, tracks #12 and #13. "Music for Indigo" and "Mostly Chimes" run for 21:12 and 16:12 minutes respectively. Apparently, the album came about as the band's live tour activities had been brought to an abrupt end due to the COVID-19 lock-down.

This solo outing by Lenker doesn't fall far from the albums by Big Thief but in general Lenker's solo songs tend to be more instrospective, more quiet singer / songwriter and more stripped down material without the distinct bond to an indie rock scene, and with this one she reveals an even more subtle and near lo-fi-arranged intimate collection that just feel like the most natural thing - which in the case of Adrianne Lenker, it probably just is. In fact, the whole album appears to only have Lenker as performer on guitar and vocal (as well as painter for the cover) with Phil Weinrobe as recording engineer.

Lyrically, it's deeply personal, yet on a general level of instrospectiveness. It's about how to deal with emotions linked to separation, loss and... human suffering, and then, it's nevertheless light-hearted music all because of light strumming acoustic guitars and a gentle vocal aided along with delicate percussion. Regarding 'track highlights', it's difficult, if not impossible, to point out specific songs when in fact it's the whole album as an experience that makes it really good.

Songs & Instrumentals is a most welcomed album.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, NME, Uncut 4 / 5, Pitchfork 8,8 / 10 stars ]