Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker's solo album, abysskiss will doubtless and deservedly hit many critical lists as the year winds down and critics pull their trousers back up, having assured themselves that peering into their own ass so far as they can is just what they do, and just what their types do, and well, their list in a world of one billion record releases will be comfortingly, comfortably, relatable because it will contain 85.5% of the titles on the next critical list I turn to with that odd outlier failing, failing to make them look too discerning after all. Lazy useless waste of space soul-sucking fucking self-indulgent bastards. Why do we do it?
But aside from all that, there's something genuinely beguiling and bewitching about Adrianne Lenker's voice, it's intimate it's immediate and it's personal, it's as if you're at one of those terrible parties where someone gets the guitar out. Oh God No you pray paralyzed. But Not Adrianne, she wrests it away, politely and sits quietly back on the sofa, self-possessed, playing and singing, while you throw awed sideways glances.
That's kind of how late night lovely her new single 'symbol' is from abysskiss. Symbol's accompanied by a Martin Parr at Coney Island style family day out video as Adrianne meets various folks on the boardwalk.
Watch the video. Watch the video again, and again, and again and again and again. Buy the exceptional abysskiss album. Don't buy what rocknroll critics are selling.
Adrianne Lenker official website here
abysskiss is available now from saddle creek - a sure sign of quality in these difficult time.
Buy it here for a little while at least on cloudy vinyl and other formats here:
