Courtney Marie Andrews Goes Breezier & Poppier On Uplifting ‘Loose Future’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Photo credit: Brett Warren

Many ears might find difficulty adjusting to the bright, blissful sound of Courtney Marie Andrews on her newest effort, Loose Future. It’s the fourth album for the Grammy-nominated and highly acclaimed singer-songwriter who had floored us with her achingly vulnerable, soaring gospel-soul vocals on her previous two albums. Rarely had anyone sung about pain and heartbreak and made it sound devastatingly beautiful in the process.  For Loose Futures, her sound traces to a better sense of self-worth and likely much more comfort in her relationship(s).  It’s breezier, poppier, and certainly more uplifting. Said one way, it arguably lacks the impact of her previous two. On the other hand, she brings a sound that is completely unexpected. 

She enlisted a new producer, Sam Evian (Big Thief, Cassandra Jenkins, Anna Burch) to co-produce the album with her and recorded the album at Evian’s Flying Cloud Recordings studio in the Catskill Mountains. As on the previous album, all music is just from three musicians – Christopher Bear (Grizzly Bear) on drums and the seemingly ubiquitous Josh Kaufman (Bonnie Light Horseman) on multiple instruments.

Andrews, an Arizona native, wrote these ten songs while spending time in Cape Cod in the summer of 2021. She approached writing with discipline, trying to write each day and aiming for a sense of freedom, optimism, and romance. As mentioned, she retreated to the Catskills to record the songs, many of which suggest a full band as one hears layered vocals, jangly and slide guitars, and synths galore. This is also new, as her previous albums had rather minimal instrumentation framing her vocals. This sonic shift was purposeful as well, as Andrews states that her new feelings about love are not earthbound, instead preferring to take the sonics to more spacey realms.

Given that this new album was announced last June, listeners may already be acquainted with her new approach through the three released singles – “Satellite,” “Loose Futures,” and “These Are the Good Old Days.” Andrews’ major strength remains her vocals, even with bliss replacing the ache, it is still a very affecting instrument that carries her straightforward, simple lyrics. Don’t expect to find lots of imagery or detailed character sketches. She will use rather direct metaphors as describing her lover in the dreamy “Satellite” – “But I, I, I like you all the time/A constellation I always find/And I, I, I like to see you shine/My favorite piece of the sky.”

The title track kicks off the album with its sparkling synths and keys, as Andrews glides along, singing about taking it slow, ready to plunge into something new, albeit cautiously. “Older Now” plays to chugging rhythms, layered vocals, and an admission in the fleshed-out chorus “I’m older now.” The gently strummed “On the Line” harkens to the sparser sound of previous albums, imbued with a cello-sounding synth that brings hints of darkness.  She basks in the comfort of a newfound relationship, clinging to the now in the chunky, poppy “These Are the Good Old Days.”  The majestic “Thinking On You” is one of the strongest melodies, the kind that lingers for days while “You Do What You Want’ is another of the breezy caliber as she strives for the right balance and mood as she moves forward.

“Let Her Go” has an ethereal backdrop that allows us to focus directly on the crystalline beauty of her voice which again she layers here on the choruses, rather unnecessarily to these ears which prefer to let that singular instrument of hers stand alone as it does in much of the song. “Change My Mind” soars to an orchestral backdrop as Andrews adopts a more deliberate posture, her essence summed up perfectly by “I’m not used to feeling good” and “I keep looking for ways to be let down.” Pessimists will delight in this one. In the closer “Me and Jerry” she begins by expressing self-confidence and takes her voice to the stratosphere for one of the few times on the album, soaring above the dense sonics as she describes a solid but somewhat flawed relationship.

Yes, it takes some getting used to, but Andrews has another winner, just a different-sounding one.

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