Adrianne Lenker

Grey skies and a gently falling rain accompanied us as we made our way to the Barbican Centre on an unseasonably cold April afternoon, in hope that American indie-folk talent Adrianne Lenker would bring us more than a ray of sunshine to lift the mood. Touring on the back of her recent solo release, Bright Future, the Big Thief singer-songwriter and musician has reinforced her reputation with well-crafted solo albums that have commanded an endeared following. Squeezing three shows into the weekend, we had tickets to the Sunday matinee.

Lenker’s 5th solo album was an almost accidental release. Musical friends were available between touring schedules to come together with Lenker in the studio and explore her latest creative ideas. In her own words, she had no idea what the outcome would be, but what resulted was something ‘magical’. Recorded straight to tape, the songs include snap shots from childhood memories, love affairs, the environment… the passing of time. They have an immediate intimate allure, capturing the beauty of a creative moment, shared between friends, and showcase Lenker’s maturing song writing talents - her crafted lyrics entwined with gently picked guitar and yearning melodies. She is returning to this side of the Pond later in the summer with her Big Thief compadres as they tour their latest collective release, and it feels like a bit of a treat to have Lenker here on this Sunday afternoon in London all to ourselves.

She stepped out dressed in country folk attire - blue jeans, shirt, and a Stetson. Once the applause settled down Lenker seemed in no rush to tune her guitar and settle herself. She welcomed everyone with a polite ‘good morning’ and then started the set with Big Thief number Orange, and followed this with Angels, an early ‘b-side’ composition. She seemed to stay away from her most recently composed songs in the first part of her set, preferring to revisit older solo compositions, Big Thief numbers, and a cover of Chris Smither’s, Leave the Light On.

Her brother was her first guest, accompanying her on Spud Infinity. Bringing his talents to the mouth harp, he lightened the mood with comical effect. Lenker is then soon joined by her ‘two close friends’ who she wrote and recorded the new album with: Nick Hakim and Josefin Runsteen, layering piano, violin and vocal harmonies.

Lenker makes good use of her capo and occasional alternate tunings to get the most out of her guitar that befits her folky compositions. This underpins her tender, delicate vocals and starkly honest - if not at times cryptic - lyrics. On her own this talented combination is an arresting presence, particularly as she begins to delve into her more recent and somewhat more accomplished solo songs. Together with the subtle and discerning accompaniment of her two friends, the music takes a more reverent turn befitting the aged wood panelled, parquet floored Barbican Hall that has silently seen many a talent over its 40 plus years. Highlights included, ‘forwards beckon rebound’, ‘zombie girl’, Free Treasure, and ‘fangs lungs ankles’; the latter with its tongue twisting lyrics that Lenker stumbled over with a smile.

Before closing the set with the beautifully moving ‘not a lot, just forever’, the trio played Big Thief opus, Vampire Empire. Lenker ‘formally’ invited the audience to sing along, albeit it wasn’t easy keeping up with her cathartic couplets and falsetto stabs in the chorus.

After rapturous applause, the three friends returned for an encore and performed Oldest, a song Lenker introduced as one of her favourites from the new album sessions but ended up off the final cut. Now, I would be lying if I wasn’t on the edge of my seat in eager expectation for her to follow this with Anything. She played it the night before, and the night before that, and after all, it’s her number one streamed song on Spotify (and still makes me cry), but… not this time.

Fair enough, we tell ourselves as we eventually found our way out of the Brutalist labyrinth, stepping out into unexpected sunshine and blue sky. As in truth, her matinee setlist alone showcased many songs that match or even exceed Anything. And no doubt Lenker will follow with finer songs still.