Her songwriting talent and willingness to experiment was already evident on 2017's Play 'til You Win, but the perfect balance of exploration and poignancy on Overview make it a significant step forward for her.
For all of its brainy machinations, what An Overview on Phenomenal Nature never forgets to do is make a human connection
Cassandra Jenkins meditates on life’s fragmentation and nature’s healing properties on her immersive new album, An Overview on Phenomenal Nature.
Woodsist associate exercises admirable, compassionate restraint.
The Ramble ... sums up the themes of Phenomenal Nature with ease; it’s an album about our fractured self conception and the ways we try to put it all back together.
2021 was a pretty mediocre year so far, but everything changed when I saw this release. "An Overview on Phenomenal Nature" is the second release by singer Cassandra Jenkins, and is a spectacular album.
The sensation I had while listening to this record was as if it had opened my head, poured honey on my brain and massaged. It is so delicate, melodic, consistent, that it is as if it takes you to another level, where there is no concern and you just need to delight in the wonderful ... read more
This was an absolute experience. This album asked for my hand and took me for a ride throughout this sunset-driven seaside city and I'm just gonna be in the backseat lying down.
Built from soundscapes, conversations, and a loose saxophone, Cassandra Jenkins creates music that explores everyday feelings with acute clarity. With grand moments of lush instrumentation and quiet melodies that float in the air, Jenkins manages to create songs both intimate and expansive. The ultimate strength of the record is the way Jenkins can construct entire worlds through small interactions. The music feels mundane in a productive and energizing way; everything is an opportunity for ... read more
An ambient folk album, Cassandra Jenkins' calm vocals draw poetic ripples in the lyrics, with emotional sounds echoing through the notes with themes of "loss" and "healing". In addition, the arrangements mimic natural landscapes and further enhance the album's atmospheric immersion with gentle, lingering arrangements of synths, strings, saxophones, and flutes, while occasional ambient samples such as birdsong serve as natural reverberations to brighten the ambient colours of ... read more
The key track on this short LP teaches us to count to three but that isn't even remotely close to the number of times "Crosshairs" has melted my heart.
1 | Michelangelo 3:29 | 81 |
2 | New Bikini 4:22 | 80 |
3 | Hard Drive 5:27 | 90 |
4 | Crosshairs 4:03 | 81 |
5 | Ambiguous Norway 4:20 | 81 |
6 | Hailey 2:53 | 75 |
7 | The Ramble 7:08 | 77 |
#4 | / | Loud and Quiet |
#5 | / | Under the Radar |
#6 | / | Our Culture |
#7 | / | BrooklynVegan |
#7 | / | Uncut |
#8 | / | No Ripcord |
#9 | / | Rough Trade (UK) |
#10 | / | Stereogum |
#11 | / | God Is In The TV |
#12 | / | Exclaim! |