ADRIANNE LENKER - Songs And Instrumentals 2LP

Shacked up in a summer cabin in New England, with just one tape recorder and the mindset of a crestfallen survivalist, Adrianne Lenker made not one, but two amazing albums. Having carved out a sincere niche in indie rock during the latter half of the last decade as the lead vocalist and instrumentalist of Big Thief, she's already ensured that she'll continue as a force to be reckoned with in the 2020s. Her band is known to whisk up delicate narrations of love and life in a cauldron of spunky folk, and Lenker on her own is honed in even further. Songs and Instrumentals is a quaint and sylvan road trip through dew-speckled woodland states, sunlight twirling through the van windows like a kaleidoscope over a fishbowl.

Some tunes are barebones and rudimentary, seeing Lenker strip back her formula to its sparsest condition. But even when the accompanying production is so naked, she continues to prove her worth as one of the greatest songwriters of her generation. It's not as if the album has many shortcomings, but the quality skyrockets from great to phenomenal towards the end. The crushing lyrics of Zombie Girl deal with the absence of a person, as their silhouette, their presence, their personality and spirit fade from your memory as you lose your grip on what's left.

My Angel, with its kind and luscious simplicity, leads us tenderly from Songs into the Instrumentals portion of the record. Music for Indigo, dedicated to and named for a recent heartbreak, consists of a patchwork of folk improvisations pieced together over Adrianne's time in nature. Being composed of ad-lib sessions, the guitar work here is extraordinary. It melts into the ambience of Mostly Chimes, bells and birds piercing the fresh air. With her final words on the album, "I'm starting over", Lenker sums up its healing nature. Songs and Instrumentals truly is the ultimate safe haven, a place of meditation and escape where one can reflect on their life and rediscover themselves.