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

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

) are two studio albums by

Adrianne Lenker Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker (born July 9, 1991) is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of the band Big Thief, as well as an established solo artist. She has released several solo albums, including ''A ...

, both released by

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

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 folk band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2015. The lineup comprises vocalist-guitarist Adrianne Lenker, guitarist Buck Meek and drummer James Krivchenia. Founding bassist Max Oleartchik left the band in 2024 ...

was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. 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 stylistic ch ...

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". Both albums were met with critical acclaim.

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 his ...

. In 2019, Big Thief left Saddle Creek and signed to

, 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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

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 univ ...

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 Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

. The albums were mixed at the end of May at Figure 8 Recording in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. 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 is a brand of portable audio players manufactured by Sony since 1979. It was originally introduced as a portable cassette player and later expanded to include a range of portable audio products. Since 2011, the brand has referred exclusivel ...

. 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 (also known as a first-person perspective, voice, point of view, etc.) is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from that storyteller's own personal point of view, using first-person grammar suc ...

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 some 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

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) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'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 talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

''. 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'' (also known as the Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca) is a plant species belonging to the genus '' Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names. This monocotyledonous tre ...

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

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

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

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'' 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 Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'', 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 Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

editorial staff highlighted the 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

{, class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" , + Year-end lists with ''Songs'' and ''Instrumentals'' ! Publication ! List ! Rank ! class="unsortable", , - ! scope="row", Double J , The 50 best albums of 2020 , , , - ! scope="row", ''Esquire UK'' , The 50 Best Albums of 2020 , , , - ! scope="row", ''

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

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

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site featuring music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 in ...

'' , 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 ...

'' , The Best Albums of 2020 , , , - ! scope="row", ''

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, nickel, ...

'' , Top 25 Albums of 2020 , , , - ! scope="row", ''

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company ...

'' , The 100 Best Albums of 2020 , , , - ! scope="row",

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

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

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Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

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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, ...

'' , The 60 Best Albums of 2020 , , , - ! scope="row", ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' , The 50 Best Albums of 2020 , {{center, 27 {{small, (''Songs'') , {{center, , - ! scope="row", '' Under the Radar'' , Top 100 Albums of 2020 , {{center, 32 {{small, (''Songs'') , {{center, , - ! scope="row", ''

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Track listing

{{track listing , 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 {{track listing , 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 cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

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

, year=2020, type=liner notes, publisher=

, id=4AD-0302 and

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

. *

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

Charts

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" , + Chart performance for ''Songs and Instrumentals'' ! 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 {, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" , + Chart performance for ''Songs'' ! scope="col", Chart (2024) ! scope="col", Peak
position , - ! scope="row", Lithuanian Albums ( AGATA){{cite web, url=https://www.agata.lt/lt/naujienos/s45-3/, title=2024 45-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100), publisher= AGATA, language=lt, date=November 8, 2024, access-date=November 8, 2024 , 100

References

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