By Stella Hufhines
The beginning of Adrianne Lenker’s new album, Bright Future, starts with the swoosh of a tape recorder. The singer-songwriter from Big Thief recorded her 2020 album, Songs like this as well– straight from the tape. This raw and simple recording style, which often includes little cracks or mutterings from musicians, coincides with the exposed feeling that Lenker’s songs often invoke.
Listening to this album as an audience member feels like a gift– a special peek into what this particular song sounded like on the specific day that it was recorded. Track by track, listeners are transported into an unknown room, with a minimal set-up, and a few musicians. Lenker’s vocals in Bright Future are untreated and beautiful, similar to all of her projects; however, the lyricism is what truly distinguishes this album from the rest of her discography.
Lenker’s lyrics have always been philosophical and emotional, often recalling feelings of nostalgia and love. In her newest release, this lyricism is ramped up entirely, making the audience feel nostalgic for memories that are not even theirs. “Real House,” the opening track, is obviously so personal to Lenker,
yet the instrumentals and vulnerability that the song presents are enough to make any listener relate.
“Real House” is a brave track to open the album. The song is unlike any other from the release, possessing windy pauses and a scrappy sound. While the rest of the tracks do include certain raw details, they are ultimately more uniform and traditional compared to the opening track.
Lenker focuses on modern issues in tracks like “No Machine” as she sings “Let no machine eat away our dream, baby take my hand let’s go together.” While Lenker’s lyrics have consistently explored themes of curiosity and introspection, these recurrent motifs appear to be heightened and emphasized even further across the album.“This whole world is dying, don’t it seem like a good time for swimming,” Lenker sings on “Donut Seam.” This track seems to highlight the polar opposite roles that Lenker plays throughout the album– a determined optimist and doom monger.
Big Thief fans also get to hear yet another rendition of “Vampire Empire” in this album, which most recently was released as a single from the band. Lenker’s new version of the track has a much more upbeat strumming pattern and more grungy, noisy vocals compared to the previous release of the song.
In “Evol,” Lenker uses wordplay and mirror images like “God, dog, devil, lived,” backed by soft piano and violin instrumentals. This melancholic and introspective track proves to be one of the more “spooky” songs on the album, aided by Lenker’s soft and haunting vocals.
Bright Future is easily a “no-skip” album for me. The chosen style of producing truly highlights Lenker’s vocals and lyrics without complicating or flattening the tracks. Lenker continues to put out amazing work and affirms her role as today’s best folk-inspired singer-songwriter.
Favorite Tracks: “Donut Seam” and “No Machine”