What does it sound like?:

Cassandra Jenkins is a New York songwriter. My introduction to her was the third song here, released in the early days of the year as what passes for a single these days. “Hard Drive” is a tour de force, a spoken word account of meetings with various people – a security guard, a bookmaker, a driving instructor – that builds and builds on waves of glittering guitar, piano and drum loops. It’s a stunning song, one that will have you playing it again as soon as it finishes. And the good news is the rest of the album is pretty special too.

The sound takes in traditional singer songwriter, folk, jazz, even some ambient. The palette throughout is restrained with hushed saxophone, gently rolling drums, keys for melody and atmosphere, and some lovely fluid, occasionally fuzzy, guitar, alongside strings and woodwind where they are needed. Across the record they coalesce into terrific arrangements, ornate yet direct, intimate but outward looking. The whole thing sounds luminous and honeyed, a triumph of production.

The lyrics are snapshots and stories from everyday lives, part narrative, part poetry. It makes sense that Jenkins has supported Craig Finn from … Continue reading Cassandra Jenkins – An Overview On Phenomenal Nature