- Record Label: Ba Da Bing Records
- Release Date: Feb 19, 2021
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Feb 19, 2021Her 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.
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Feb 19, 2021These songs are like aloe vera and St. John’s wort, all natural and healing. Though none of them are exactly happy, you find yourself relaxing into them, letting things go, breathing deeper and feeling measurably more able to go on with whatever’s next. ... It’s going to be one of the best records of 2021.
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Feb 26, 2021For all of its brainy machinations, what An Overview on Phenomenal Nature never forgets to do is make a human connection. Jenkins puts herself central to the story and provides the vulnerability to be the patient whose body needs healing hands placed upon it.
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Feb 19, 2021Working with producer and multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman, Jenkins keeps the album focused and breezy. In just over half an hour, it features one perfect song (the dazzling “Hard Drive”), five excellent ones, and an instrumental coda.
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Oct 13, 2021Many of Jenkins’ observations grow more excellent from further rumination and will likely stick with the listener long after the closing chirps of “The Ramble”.
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Mar 12, 2021It feels carefully tailored to a fault, making it practically impossible to find its flaws—especially if you find the interchangeable poetic sing-speak of Hard Drive endearing. Nevertheless, this is solipsism of the highest caliber: gentle, hypnotic, fastidious, but above all else, hard to resist.
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MojoFeb 19, 2021Lasting only an economic 33 minutes; on this form, she could pull off a double album. [Apr 2021, p.84]
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UncutFeb 19, 2021"Hard Drive," meanwhile adds spoken word and Bogie's swirling saxophone to a touching tale of psychic recovery, before "The Ramble" concludes with pretty pastel drones. [Mar 2021, p.31]
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Feb 19, 2021Jenkins' winding writing is cerebral and referential, nearly every song capable of opening a Wikipedia rabbit hole. However, much like Norwegian art-pop virtuoso Jenny Hval, she works wonders in the place between heart and mind; her intellectualism is never overbearing, instead revealing a dedication to explaining the unexplainable.
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Feb 22, 2021The sound of Phenomenal Nature, too, is both fractured and coherent, as Jenkins has expanded from a simple guitar-bass-drums set up to include violins, saxophones, and synths in her compositions. At its best, all these instruments cohere into a delicate drone, a shimmering thing that sounds like an infinity pool: no edges, just a reflective surface.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 32 out of 40
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Mixed: 7 out of 40
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Negative: 1 out of 40
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Dec 1, 2021**** beautiful. I can feel my body and soul centering themselves, while I listen to this.
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Nov 8, 2021
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Jul 4, 2021an overview on phenomenal nature by Cassandra Jenkins is a lovely and beautifully done album