Cassandra Jenkins "My Light, My Massage Parlor" (2025)

My Light, My Massage Parlor

udgivet: 25. aug. 2025

format: digital (8 x File, FLAC)

[vurdering: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]

producer: Cassandra Jenkins

selskab: Dead Oceans - nationalitet: USA

Udvalgte numre: 1. "Still Rambling" - 2. "Only Relaxation" - 3. "Omakase of Time" - 4. Delphinium Bliss" - 5. "Wormhold Music" - 6. "Betelgeuse Masseuse" - 7. "Haley"

4. album fra Cassandra Jenkins følger blot 1 år efter det flotte My Light, My Destroyer, og det er både en samling spritnye numre, men også noget, der mere end blot trækker tråde til hendes 2024-album. Albummet eksisterer tilsyneladende i en anden version på vinyl, hvor ikke bare coveret er anderledes, men også numrene har andre titler, men det har jeg ikke hørt. Måske er der en stor trang, et behov for at lade musikken vokse videre for Jenkins. I hvert fald er det ikke første gang hun henter inspiration fra et netop udgivet album og bruger det som musikalsk fundament for noget nyt. Albummet An Overview on Phenomenal Nature (feb. 2021) resulterede i efterfølgeren (An Overview On) An Overview on Phenomenal Nature (nov. 2021), som indeholdt både demoer, alternative versioner og et par andre numre end det musikalske forlæg, men det var tydeligt musik med et ganske andet udtryk, som hun her viste frem. På lignende vis er det med dette album - på engelsk er det kaldt en 'companion', altså en 'ledsager' eller et slags tillæg - også tydeligt afspejlet gennem en ny meddigtende titel. De fleste af numrene er akustiske og instrumentale versioner af 2024-albummet, og så igen: det er meget mere end det, for stemningen er langt fra den samme. Nogle numre har som albumtitlen tydelige referencer, fx den oprindelige "Omakase" hedder her "Omakase of Time" og Delphinium Blue" kommer her som "Delphinium Bliss". Og så er der nummeret "Haley", som åbenbart bare skal være på et Cassandra Jenkins-album. På debut-albummet var der et "Halley" med reference til Halley's Comet, på 2021-albummet var "Hailey" med i en første version. På (An Overview On) An Overview on Phenomenal Nature hed nummeret nu "Hailey (Premix)", på 2023-albummet var nummeret med i to ulige versioner: "Hayley" og: "Hailey / Hayley (Only One)", men var her igen originale (nye) numre, hver især, og på dette album er så "Haley" med (igen), uden at ligne andre tidligere versioner, men altså også uden en ekstra tilføjelse til titlen, men med alternativ stavning (!). Så kan man allerede gætte på, at næste album har et "Heyley" eller "Heyli" eller "Hayli" med... Jenkins har et eller andet med en optagethed af betydninger - lidt ligesom Laurie Anderson.

Musikalsk er det så laid-back og tæt på new age ambient uden decideret kun at være det, alene. Stemningsfuldt er det til overflod, og så har Jenkins tilføjet sine field recordings som små sløjfer, der løber eller svæver svagt i baggrunden. De første par gennemlytninger gav mig ikke samme positive oplevelse, som jeg har fået hen ad vejen. Umiddelbart gav det indtryk af noget unødvendigt, men det er et album, der bare vokser og som måske kræver tilvænning. Måske fordi det er så markant anderledes, end det, jeg troede, Jenkins havde gang i, men hun er tydeligvis noget mere sammensat end som så. Og så er det bare dejligt, at hun tør. Jazz'en har hun heldigvis med sig overalt på dette album. Det er ikke et album med flere ørehængere, men mere en helhed, der fungerer rigtig godt fra ende til anden.

Absolut anbefalet.

[ PopMatters 3,5 / 5 stjerner ]

Cassandra Jenkins "My Light, My Destroyer" (2024)

My Light, My Destroyer

release date: Jul. 12, 2024

format: vinyl / digital (18 x File, FLAC) (Deluxe Edition)

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

producer: Andrew Lappin, Cassandra Jenkins

label: Dead Oceans - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Devotion" (4 / 5) - 2. "Clams Casino" - 3. "Delphinium Blue" (4 / 5) - 5. "Aurora, IL" - 6. "Betelgeuse" (4 / 5) - 7. "Omakase" (4 / 5) - 9. "Petco" - 11. "Tape and Tissue" - 12. "Only One" - *15. "Hailey / Hayley (Only One)" - *17. "Stardust"

* Bonus track on Deluxe Edition

3rd studio album by Cassandra Jenkins following the acclaimed An Overview on Phenomenal Nature (Feb. 2021) and more recently the following release of demos and outtakes released as (An Overview on) An Overview on Phenomenal Nature (Nov. 2021). The standard vinyl and cd issues of the album contains 13 tracks with a total running time of just under 37 minutes. The digital Deluxe Edition (and the 2-disc cd issue) extends the running time to 52 minutes [ find it on bandcamp ]. The title of the album comes from the song "Omakase" and its chorus lines: "My lover - My light - My destroyer - My meteorite".

The album is held in the same original style and tone as her 2021 album. It's therefore made with a distinct sense for sophistication. It's a perfect blend of new age, jazz, indie rock, sophisti-pop, and with delicate use of field recordings. A couple of the bonus tracks are more experimental with bold use of field recordings and less focus on coherency - especially track #17, "Stardust" appears as one long experimental. The album is, however, no less than yet another amazing release. The whole album is meant for attentive listening and it works as a complete work - and more so than a collection of individual songs.

My Light, My Destroyer is one of this year's absolute best albums. For now, it's in my top-3, but I only suspect it to go higher.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut 4,5 / 5, 👍Pitchfork 8,0 / 10, 👍Mojo, The Guardian, Slant 4 / 5 stars ]

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

Cassandra Jenkins "An Overview on Phenomenal Nature" (2021)

An Overview on Phenomenal Nature

release date: Feb. 19, 2021

format: digital (7 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]

producer: Josh Kaufmann, Cassandra Jenkins

label: Ba Da Bing! - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Michelangelo" - 2. "New Bikini" - 3. "Hard Drive" (4 / 5) (live on KEXP) - 4. "Crosshairs" - 5. "Ambiguous Norway" - 6. "Hailey"

2nd full-length album by Cassandra Jenkins follows 4 years after her fine debut Play Till You Win (Apr. 2017) and it's a relatively short affair with seven tracks and a full-length running time just above the half hour making it 10 mins shorter than the debut. So what has she been up to in all these years except from touring, releasing two live albums and getting used to a new everyday life? You may ask [answering it all by yourself that is]. Yes, perhaps the positive reception of a first album out plays a part in the relative long hiatus in between releases, 'cause how do you deal with all the positive response from music critics and music fans? - Anyhow, it does remain an uncertain detail because four years is a long time when trying to get your name out.

Now, the album is a bolder step into sophisticated art pop built on layers and inspiration from jazz and some electronica, which leaves an impression of a new approach. At least it differs from her first two releases: the stripped-down and simplistic folk-oriented and self-titled ep debut from 2013 and her 2017 full-length both appearing more closely related with one another, and then this one pointing forward to her so far finest album release: My Light, My Destroyer (Jul. 2024), which now echoes alt. folk to some extent but generally more so art pop fused with ambient electronica and the use of field recordings.

The album here contains my first ever encounter with the music by Jenkins, the phenomenal "Hard Drive", which had me thinking of an artist related to Laurie Anderson, someone perfectly capable of setting a tone, telling a story, and have music and songwriting go hand in hand in a highly original way by combining something literally with the abstract and double meanings. And "Hard Drive" is both something physical referring to storage of data on a computer and then steering a car can be a 'hard drive'. Luckily, the album comes with more than just one fine song, although, that particular one still stands as one of her finest.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Pitchfork 8,3 / 10, Exclaim! 4 / 5 stars ]

Cassandra Jenkins "Play Till You Win" (2017)

Play Till You Win [debut]

release date: Apr. 7, 2017

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]

producer: Cassandra Jenkins & Sam Owens

label: self-released - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Candy Crane" (live) - 2. "Tennessee Waltz" - 5. "Red Lips" - 6. "Disappearing" - 9. "Disco Death Dance" - 10. "Some Time" - 11. "Halley" (live)

Full-length studio album debut by Cassandra Jenkins is a decent first-attempt where she already upholds a certain self-reliance as someone who's been around much longer. And that is something, which is stressed by how the album is both a coherent and nicely varied experience. She has her own laid-back singing style and maturely builds on classic folk rock and country of the 70s without sounding dated. What lacks, are stronger personal songs and some of the original quality you'll find on her later releases, but all in all, Play Till You Win is a fine debut.

[ The Line of Best Fit 7,5 / 10 stars ]