“Don’t be afraid, my girl,” begins the chorus. Sung from the perspective of a dying parent to their daughter, “come” approaches death with hauntingly straightforward acceptance. “Honey in your mouth when you gave me my name / Tears in your eyes when you pull it likе a chain,” she sings in the second verse, lingering on the same note as if refusing to let go of the memory just yet. Her description of her partner in “forwards beckon rebound” embodies her uncertainty: “Villain and violent, infant and innocent.” On “half return,” she reckons with how someone who once meant so much to her caused her immense pain. Several other songs attempt to portray Lenker’s constantly shifting perception of romance as her attitude fluctuates between devotion and disappointment. “I don’t wanna talk about anything,” Lenker starts each chorus before repeating the phrase a step lower as the impossibility of her wishes sets in. Warm memories of doing laundry and shopping for groceries are interspersed with sharp, violent images - a Christmas Eve dinner that spirals into a fight, a dog bite that leads to an ER visit. The album’s third track and lead single, “anything,” captures the agonizing complexity of a lost relationship in its forthright lyrics. The chorus cycles through a kaleidoscope of colors that evoke the memory of a loved one: “Light blue, dark blue, grey / Crimson trail,” she sings, her voice rising and falling as she names each hue. Lenker’s voice, hovering between vulnerable fragility and self-assured precision, adds another layer of magic to the 11 tracks of “songs.” The album opens with the up-tempo guitar flourish that forms the foundation of “two reverse,” its quickly ascending notes reappearing to introduce each verse. I want to understand-what is this feeling of emptiness? Is that me? Am I just hollow and empty? Or is emptiness actually something beautiful?” I feel so empty,” she told the New Yorker.
“Now there isn’t anyone to text there are no love messages coming through. Lenker wrote the albums while still reeling from a breakup, and her determination to explore the newfound emptiness in her life may explain her focus on the silence between notes. The next track, “mostly chimes,” remains true to its name as a brief guitar intro gives way to a chorus of jingling wind chimes. Its soothing lilt is no coincidence - Lenker intended the track as a lullaby for her former partner. The first of these two songs, “music for indigo,” moves along at such a leisurely tempo that it draws attention to the gaps between motifs more often plucked than strummed, where the sounds of the cabin gradually replace the decaying notes. Her connection to her surroundings is at its strongest in “instrumentals,” two songs whose pristine tranquility somehow feels both improvisatory and deliberate. In an interview with the New Yorker, she described the cabin itself as “like the inside of an acoustic guitar” - the instrument that takes center stage in both albums, accompanied by minimal percussion and the occasional burst of thunder or birdsong.Īs Lenker’s music plays, snippets of ambient noise envelop her voice and guitar as naturally as if she had asked the woods to contribute a backing track. With the help of recording engineer Philip Weinrobe, Lenker let the newfound quiet amplify her creativity. Recorded in a secluded New England cabin in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, “songs” and “instrumentals” contend with the idea of finding closeness in isolation. 23, Lenker once again dazzled listeners with a duo of albums - except this time, without her bandmates. Big Thief’s two most recent studio albums, released just months apart last year, showcased a quartet of compassionate musicians with a deep reverence for their art. As the lead singer and guitarist of Big Thief, Adrianne Lenker spins elements of folk rock into a delicate but visceral sound without compare.
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