Adrianne Lenker is an indie folk artist with a beautiful solo career, but she isn’t limited to that. Lenker is also the lead singer/songwriter and guitarist of Big Thief. Tracks like “not a lot, just forever,” “anything,” and “half return” from her solo album “songs” were popularized in 2024 on TikTok and Instagram. This means that “songs” is her most popular album, and for good reason.
“songs” was released on October 23rd, 2020 album ‘instrumentals.’ These albums were both released following a big breakup, as well as Lenker’s tour for Big Thief getting canceled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The album is a total of 37 minutes long, spread across 11tracks. Thiealbum is a genuine masterpiece, but the most stand out tracks to me are “two reverse,” “forwards, beckon, rebound,” and “ingydar.”
The first track off the album is “two reverse.” This song is beautifully written and produced. Lenker’s vocals always add this raw, emotional, and more intense feeling than other artists. The way her voice isn’t as processed, but rather has a real, shaky, and emotional tone, makes this song 100 times better. The lyrics in this song are absolutely perfect; my personal favorite being “Lay me down so to let you leave/Tell me lies, I wanna see your eyes/Is it a crime to say I still need you?” Lyrics are extremely important to me when it comes to music, and this album has so many songs that are great to analyze. I’ve seen a few different takes on this song, but the one that resonated with me the most was the take that this song is about the fight with yourself after splitting up with someone.
“ingydar” is the second track on the album, and it is one of the best songs I have ever heard. “ingydar” was the name of Lenker’s aunt’s horse, although she says the song isn’t about the horse itself, more of multiple fragments of ideas. The lyrics are so meaningful, and I was actually able to find an interview with Adrianne about this song. My absolute favorite quote from said interview is When Adrianne was asked about “ingydar” and what it meant, she gave the most beautiful quote.
“I was going through a transition in a relationship at the time that was so painful and still is, but that feeling of our relationship just being eaten, or the idea of like, whatever state we’re in now, me and this person that were in this relationship, it’s our relationship, and all the journey and processing we had to go through was the sacrifice for our new state of being. And it was eaten by time.”
This song is so beautiful, emotional and almost personal in a way. “Everything eats and is eaten/Time is fed” and “You are as far from me as a memory” definitely read differently and hit you a lot harder after you’ve heard Lenker talk about the meaning behind the song.
“forwards, beckon, rebound” is the fourth song off “songs” and it is absolutely flawless. The lyrics are my second favorite off this album. “Mystery of lack/Stabbing stars through my back/Forwards, beckon, rebound” repeats throughout the track. To me, this lyric read as the push and pull after a break up, moving on, then coming back at their beck and call. “forwards, beckon, rebound” has arguably the best or second best lyrics off this album. “Pulling your face close/Wanting the inmost/Show me/I’m not afraid of you now” Are some of the only lyrics that I can confidently say describe emotional connection almost perfectly.
Adrianne Lenker is the best artist I have listened to in months. Most of the songs I hear recently have all of the soul sucked out of them with over production and auto tune, its insanely refreshing to hear raw emotional vocals. Adrianne has a very emotional voice that makes her sound older than she is; it adds depth to every song she writes and sings. “songs” is a top tier album that everyone should listen to.
