An Overview On Phenomenal Nature - Cassandra Jenkins: Review
Cassandra Jenkins
is a Brooklyn singer-songwriter who first attracted the attention of the indie music scene with her debut album Pay Till You Win in 2017. Since then she has released singles and live albums sparsely over the year before ultimately returning with her Josh Kaufman produced sophomore album on Overview.
Review By Lav:
Until a few weeks ago I had no idea who Cassandra Jenkins was and I hadn't hear her debut album. But after seeing a couple of very positive reviews for this record and noticing the most Brooklyn thing possible, that Josh Kaufmann produced the record, I decided to give it a shot. While Kaufmann is perhaps most known for his production work with Craig Finn's The Hold Steady, I was really interested to see the sonic approach he would contribute to a singer-songwriter record. As soon as I turned this record on what makes it special was instantly apparent to me and with how much enjoyment I've derived from it I only wish I had been aware of Cassandra and been able to review this album sooner.
The record is just 7 songs and a hair over 30 minutes but each of the 3 singles released in the lead up to the album brought something unique. Michelangelo is a pretty standard opening track by indie metrics with a bright steady instrumental serving as the basis for Cassandra's visual poetry. The song does stand out in one way with a wiry guitar solo right in the middle that is unexpected but never harsh or jagged enough to disrupt the beautiful nature of the track. Hard Drive was the song that really sold me on the record when I first heard it. The track reminds me of Mark Kozelek both because Cassandra delivers the verses with spoken word vocals, but also because she discusses specific details about random conversation she's had with strangers and tries to interpolate meaning from them. I like that you can feel the specific parts of the conversation that stick with her and even come up in later conversations usually related to the mind being just like a hard drive. The wandering saxophone instrumental reminds me of Julia Holter in the absolute beat way and I also love the almost yoga instructor like vocals she uses to transition the song into its outro. Finally Crosshairs is an interesting song that sees Cassandra thriving for intimacy with somebody she has never met, or at the very least somebody she's met before but no longer recognizes. It once again makes use of a varied instrumental palette but plays it incredibly distant so as to not upset the tracks really blissful atmosphere. The song is solid throughout but the real shining moment comes with its closing refrain as Cassandra's gentle whispered vocals really drive home the songs emotional potency over some absolutely sensual guitar soloing.
New Bikini reminds me a lot of Destroyer with its reserved sophisti-pop instrumental palette and vivid ocean themes. It all feels very steady and pleasing on the ears even though not every verse is equal in terms of interesting sounds. I do really like the use of the ocean as a lyrical theme and each time the song returns to the hook the distant instrumentation gets even more interesting. Ambiguous Norway referencs the passing of David Berman even going as far as to mention Purple Mountains by name. It is quite beautiful but also one of the quietest tracks here and stark even among the already minimal tracklist. I do think the whisper in your ear style vocals on the track are a bit of an interesting decision and I wonder if they take some impact out of Cassandra's lyricism but it certainly doesn't ruin the song for me. Hailey is a short track that is light on specific narrative elements, while it's clearly a tribute to the woman it's title after it's hard to make out exactly what her relationship to Cassandra was. I like the song but it is very simple and doesn't always have the beat to beat blissful overtones and unpredictable instrumental interpolations that I enjoy so much elsewhere on the album.
The Ramble is the records 7 minute closer that ironically enough is entirely an instrumental. It's a mix of both studio passages and field recordings but at first it has a very ambient tone with nothing but fragile synths hanging over everything. There are sounds of children laughing and dogs barking but the first tangible piece of instrumentation is the familiar sensual saxophone that has been all over the album. This time it's presented much more forward the anywhere else and it brings with it continued alterations to the songs ambient background tones and more present field recordings of bird sounds. While everything is no doubt sonically gorgeous I do think some of the elements clash in terms of painting one vivid consistent atmosphere. The track bounces between very natural soothing sounds and a sensation that almost feels surreal with the larger than life saxophone. It's an interesting and bold decision to end a record with something this minimal, and while it does sound beautiful I think it could have also sounded a lot more consistent.
An Overview On Phenomenal Nature is a bold and uncompromisingly minimal take on singer-songwriter music with a fascinating and inherently thought provoking narrator at its core. She borrows from some outside the box contemporaries to give her patient, beautiful vocals and poetic songwriting an interesting environment to exist in. Despite its great ambitions the record isn't perfect and I see it as more the thesis for something incredibly that may come next. There are songs here that feel much more standard for the genre as well as tracks that settle for far less interesting instrumentation and given that the project only barely passes the 30 minute mark you really want lulls to be at a minimum. The ideas here are engaging and when they're full realized the results are masterful, the record certainly made a Cassandra Jenkins fan out of me and I can't wait to see what she does next. 7.5/10
