ADRIENNE LENKER
Bright Future (4AD)
Adrienne Lenker doesn’t shy away from vulnerability on Bright Future, a delicately made record that envelopes listeners in tales of childhood, heartbreak, and love. Instead, the Big Thief vocalist leans into intimacy with a guitar-plucked tenderness that is a staple in their solo ventures. Bright Future adopts a richer sense of musicality than the gentle acoustic guitar of 2020’s Songs, with piano and violin implemented perfectly as to not overshadow the mastery of Lenker as a songwriter and guitarist.
Time is laid bare in Real House, withbookmarked recollections of childhood that finds listeners relate to someone else’s past, whereas in Vampire Empire we find Lenker’s bitter frustration towards toxic love. However, the minute details are just as important; breathy vocals, shuffling of feet, the handling of instruments, make for a project so raw it feels untouched. And in many ways it is. Bright Future acknowledges that imperfection, in life, and in music.
words RHYS JAMES