An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
| An Overview on Phenomenal Nature | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 19, 2021 | |||
| Length | 31:44 | |||
| Label | Ba Da Bing | |||
| Cassandra Jenkins chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 87/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Beats Per Minute | 79%[3] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[4] |
| Pitchfork | 8.3/10[5] |
An Overview on Phenomenal Nature is the second studio album by American musician Cassandra Jenkins. It was released on February 19, 2021, through Ba Da Bing Records.[6]
Release[edit]
On January 5, 2021, Cassandra Jenkins announced the release of her second studio album.[7] On November 19, 2021, a series of demos and other recordings from the recording sessions entitled (An Overview on) An Overview on Phenomenal Nature was released.
Singles[edit]
The first single "Michelangelo" was released on January 5, 2021, alongside the announcement of the album.[7]
The second single "Hard Drive" was released on January 20, 2021.[8]
Music videos[edit]
On January 5, 2021, Jenkins released the first official music video for "Michelangelo" on YouTube.[9]
The official music video for "Hard Drive" was released on Jenkins' official YouTube on January 21, 2021.[10] It was edited and directed by Josh Goleman.
Cassandra Jenkins released the third music video "Crosshairs" on February 10, 2021.[11] In a press release of the video, Jenkins explained "I wrote "Crosshairs" in the before times — not thinking about isolation. Listening to the song now, it reads more literally; I’ve never craved human interaction in the way I have over the course of the past year, and my experience of time has completely shifted. I decided to shoot this video over the weekend because I want to capture the snowy cityscape of New York in February 2021 and how my inner landscape feels in this moment — simultaneously miniscule and expansive."[12]
Critical reception[edit]
An Overview on Phenomenal Nature was met with "universal acclaim" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 87 based on 9 reviews.[1] Aggregator website Album of the Year gave the release a 82 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 10 reviews.[13]
In a review for AllMusic, Timothy Monger gave high praise to the release, explaining "Five years after her debut album, Cassandra Jenkins returns with Overview on Phenomenal Nature, a stunning work of impressionistic connections, contradictions, and observations all stitched together into a web of graceful dream folk. Themes of loss and healing reverberate throughout the album, especially on the hushed "Ambiguous Norway" and the gorgeous standout "New Bikini," a pair of tracks in which David Berman plays a significant role."[2]
Accolades[edit]
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Guardian | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 32
|
|
| Paste | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 17
|
|
| Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 17
|
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Michelangelo" | 3:30 |
| 2. | "New Bikini" | 4:22 |
| 3. | "Hard Drive" | 5:27 |
| 4. | "Crosshairs" | 4:04 |
| 5. | "Ambiguous Norway" | 4:20 |
| 6. | "Hailey" | 2:53 |
| 7. | "The Ramble" | 7:08 |
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ a b Monger, Timothy. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ Cohn, Ben (February 22, 2021). "Beats Per Minute Review". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ Bell, Kaelan (February 17, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins' 'An Overview on Phenomenal Nature' Is an Iridescent Folk-Jazz Odyssey". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ Sodomsky, Sam (February 19, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins: An Overview on Phenomenal Nature". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ H, Rob (January 22, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins Takes Us On An Existential Tour in the Ethereal Travelogue". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Rettig, James (January 5, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins Announces New Album". Stereogum. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ Rettig, James (January 20, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins – Hard Drive". Stereogum. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ "Michelangelo – Cassandra Jenkins". YouTube. January 5, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ "Hard Drive – Cassandra Jenkins". YouTube. January 21, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ "Crosshairs – Cassandra Jenkins". YouTube. February 10, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (February 9, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins Shares Video for New Song "Crosshairs"". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura (December 17, 2021). "The 50 best albums of 2021". theguardian.com. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Paste. November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (December 7, 2021). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
