''Songs'' and ''Instrumentals'' (both stylized in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...

) are two studio albums by

Adrianne Lenker Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker (born July 9, 1991) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of Big Thief. Early life Lenker was born in Indianapolis and was raised in a Christian cult until the age ...

, both released by 4AD on October 23, 2020. They are her fourth and fifth solo albums, respectively. The two albums were conceived in the aftermath of a breakup and after touring with her band

Big Thief Big Thief is an American indie rock band with folk roots based in Brooklyn, New York. Its members are Adrianne Lenker (guitar, vocals), Buck Meek (guitar, backing vocals), Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums). The band's debut ...

was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. They were recorded on an eight-track recording machine while in isolation in a cabin in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Both albums feature a

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

sound of primarily Lenker's vocals and acoustic guitar. The album ''Songs'' has 11 tracks with more lyrical and traditional songwriting. ''Instrumentals'' is composed of two extended instrumental pieces, featuring acoustic guitar improvisation and recordings of chimes and birdsong. The release was preceded by two singles: "Anything" and "Dragon Eyes". The albums have received favorable reviews from critics.

Background and recording

is the lead vocalist and guitarist of the American indie rock band

. In 2018, she released a solo album titled ''

Abysskiss ''Abysskiss'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the third solo studio album by Adrianne Lenker, released through Saddle Creek Records on October 5, 2018. The album was recorded at Panoramic Studio in West Marin, California with Luke Temple and Gab ...

'' on

Saddle Creek Records Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over hi ...

. In 2019, Big Thief left Saddle Creek and signed to 4AD, releasing two studio albums: ''

U.F.O.F. ''U.F.O.F.'' is the third studio album by the American band Big Thief, released through 4AD on May 3, 2019. The album was recorded in June 2018 at Bear Creek Studio, a secluded studio with lush nature surroundings in Woodinville, Washington. The ...

'' in May 2019 and '' Two Hands'' in October 2019. The albums were the band's most successful and acclaimed to date: ''U.F.O.F.'' received a nomination for the

Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

and both albums appeared on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with ''Two Hands'' peaking at 113. Their song " Not" from ''Two Hands'' was named by many publications as one of the year's best songs. Maudslay white pine 1

Big Thief toured in support of the albums until March 2020, when their European tour was canceled due to the

. Lenker flew back to New York and drove to

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...

to be with her sister Zoë, staying in a one-room cabin next door. Lenker planned to take a break from the constant cycle of recording, touring, and promotion she had been in since 2014. She was also dealing with a recent relationship breakup and did not intend to make new music. However, she found herself writing new songs with her guitar while in solitude. She eventually invited audio engineer Phil Weinrobe to assist her in recording new material. Recording took place from April 22 to May 23, 2020, in Westhampton,

in the small one-room pine cabin in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. The albums were mixed at the end of May at Figure 8 Recording in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. The albums feature Lenker's vocals and her playing acoustic guitar, as well using a paint brush and the needles of a white pine tree as instruments. It also features recordings of the rain, the wind, the fire from a wood stove, the chimes on her front porch, the birds, and the insects of the forest. Lenker and Weinrobe spent three weeks trying to record and dealing with electricity and technical setbacks. They initially considered recording the albums on an old cassette tape. At the time, their only functioning tape recorder was Weinrobe's battery-powered

Sony Walkman Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term fo ...

. Lenker eventually received an Otari eight-track recorder from a friend. The two albums were recorded on analog-analog-analog (AAA), free of all digital processes. Nine of the eleven tracks on ''Songs'' were written during the cabin sessions. Lenker and Weinrobe began and ended each day by playing an improvised acoustic guitar piece. They later combined their favorite pieces from these sessions and incorporated them into "Music for Indigo" and "Mostly Chimes" on ''Instrumentals''.

Music and lyrics

Both albums present a

sound, consisting primarily of Lenker's vocals and acoustic guitar.

''Songs''

''Songs'' is a 39-minute album spread across 11 songs which feature more lyrical and traditional songwriting. Lenker avoided writing personal lyrics in her previous work, but felt the need to write from a

first-person perspective A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...

while dealing with heartbreak. Lenker has called it the "most personal album" she has made. She sings lyrics like "I just want a place with you" on "Dragon Eyes", which she says she would not have normally written.

''Instrumentals''

''Instrumentals'' is a 37-minute album composed of two extended instrumental pieces: "Music for Indigo" and "Mostly Chimes". "Music for Indigo" features a collage of acoustic guitar improvisation. Towards the end of the piece, Lenker can be heard sighing and saying "I'm starting over". "Music for Indigo" was written by Lenker for her former partner to listen to while falling asleep at night. "Mostly Chimes" begins with four minutes of same guitar improvisation, but shifts to earth sounds. The remainder of the piece features recordings of primarily wind, chimes and birdsong.

Release

''Songs'' and ''Instrumentals'' were announced on September 2, 2020. "Anything" was released as a single the same day. "Dragon Eyes" was released as a single on October 1, 2020. ''Songs'' and ''Instrumentals'' were released by 4AD on October 23, 2020. A video of Lenker playing "Zombie Girl" in the cabin was released the same day. The albums feature artwork of watercolor paintings by Lenker's grandmother, Diane Lee. Lenker performed five tracks from the album on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's " Tiny Desk (Home) Concert" series, released on November 18, 2020. Lenker performed "Anything" on the January 26, 2021, episode of ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...

''. A video for "Forwards Beckon Rebound" was released on February 3, 2021, featuring Lenker dancing in the California desert at Wild Heart Ranch in

Joshua Tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, ''Songs'' and ''Instrumentals'' received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

score of 84 based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Roisin O'Connor of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' gave ''Songs'' a perfect score, writing, "It's excruciating in its honesty – even for Lenker, who's hardly known for shying away from her feelings. Now she bares her pain with complete abandon. It's quite extraordinary." Peter Watts of ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' gave the album an 8 out of 10 rating, writing, "Most musicians would use these sounds to ground the music in a sense of naturalism, but with Lenker it enhances the mystery." In her three-star review for ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'', Victoria Segal wrote that the albums "seem to have rolled away from the modern world entirely" and that ''Songs'' felt more focused with Lenker's "sweet, freshly cut" vocals. The

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...

editorial staff highlighted these two albums among the releases the week of October25 for ''Indie Mixtape'', calling them a "fitting pair of albums to soundtrack autumnal living".

Year-end lists

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Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' , 50 Best Albums of 2020 , , , - ! scope="row", '' Gigwise'' , 51 Best Albums of 2020 , , , - ! scope="row", ''

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The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

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Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nicke ...

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PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

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Track listing

{{tracklist , all_writing =

, headline = ''Songs'' track listing , title1 = Two Reverse , length1 = 3:33 , title2 = Ingydar , length2 = 4:08 , title3 = Anything , length3 = 3:22 , title4 = Forwards Beckon Rebound , length4 = 3:09 , title5 = Heavy Focus , length5 = 2:34 , title6 = Half Return , length6 = 2:08 , title7 = Come , length7 = 5:17 , title8 = Zombie Girl , length8 = 2:44 , title9 = Not a Lot, Just Forever , length9 = 4:10 , title10 = Dragon Eyes , length10 = 3:26 , title11 = My Angel , length11 = 5:04 , total_length = 39:35 {{Track listing , headline = Japanese bonus track , title12 = Red Leaves, Falling , length12 = 2:50 {{tracklist , all_writing = Adrianne Lenker , headline = ''Instrumentals'' track listing , title1 = Music for Indigo , length1 = 21:12 , title2 = Mostly Chimes , length2 = 16:12 , total_length = 37:24 Notes * All tracks are stylized in

Credits

Credits adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

{{cite AV media notes, title=Songs and Instrumentals, others=

, year=2020, type=liner notes, publisher= 4AD.html" ;"title="4AD">id=4AD-0302 and url=https://adriannelenker.bandcamp.com/album/songs, title=songs by Adrianne Lenker, date=October 23, 2020, website=Bandcamp, access-date=March 7, 2021 *

– vocals, acoustic guitar, paintbrush, needles of a white pine tree, production * Phil Weinrobe – recording, mixing, production * Scott Hull (mastering engineer), Scott Hull – mastering * Brendan Ford – lacquer cut * Diane Lee – front and back cover paintings * Sarah Schiesser – layout

Charts

{, class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" , - ! scope="col", Chart (2020) ! scope="col", Peak
position , - {{album chart, Flanders, 49, artist=Adrianne Lenker, album=Songs And Instrumentals, rowheader=true, access-date=November 13, 2020

References

{{reflist {{Big Thief {{Authority control 2020 albums 4AD albums Adrianne Lenker albums Folk albums by American artists Sound collage albums Lo-fi music albums