I’m planning on presenting my top ten Courtney Marie Andrews songs in the coming weeks. It’s a project I’ve been tinkering about with for some time now. From her very difficult to find early recordings, to her 2016 breakthrough Honest Life, to 2020’s Grammy-nominated Old Flowers and her latest Valentine, there are songs on these albums (and others) that will get under your skin. Why? Because Courtney Marie Andrews feels things deeply. For now, at least (again) this week, I’m content listening to her new album. Stay tuned.
Ask Courtney Marie Andrews and she will tell you her ninth studio album Valentine is “a record in pursuit of love.” It is also I think a poignant reminder she isn’t finished exploring loss, grief, love (as mentioned) and especially ideas around inner strength and connecting with the outside world. It feels like such a perfect progression in Andrews discography. Co-produced with her longtime collaborator Jerry Bernhardt (who plays an assortment of instruments) and Chris Bear on drums, this stripped down or minimalist approach doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of innovation and polish. Far from it. There is so much to like about her sonic exploration on Valentine, which features likes of Andrews playing her flute, a myriad of synths and over-distorted guitars.
Interestingly I’ve always loved how Andrews plays guitar. I was witness to her grace on stage way back in 2017 in Melbourne and I was blown away by her humility at it. Here on her new album Valentine, Andrews doubles down on guitar duty, playing a mix bag of six strings and bass with Bernhardt. One of the most exciting moments comes in the mid tempo song Everyone Wants To Feel Like You Do where Andrews lets loose with a fiery solo. Something about the intensity of the moment reminds me of Andrianne Lenker’s epic ripping, almost angry solo in Big Thief’s Not. For Andrews it is definitely an outlier moment. She even backs it up by saying that “I thought I’m just gonna play it like I don’t give a shit what anyone else is doing.” The solo arrives near the end of the track as an intense takedown of the garden variety misogynist within her song. Andrews power chords are her f#@K you!
I honestly think Andrews seems more vulnerable than ever as an artist on Valentine. But just maybe that’s whole the point of her ‘wearing her heart on sleeve” approach to songwriting. While it’s true she treads many of the same themes in her songs, her records to her credit are still always sonically different with wonderful variations of that she does best – blending elements of folk, indie and Americana. Her desire for self-expression has never been at odds with the fear of being misunderstood. And while she sees herself as an outsider it still doesn’t stop us from relating to what she has to say. In her song Outsider taken from her new album she says: “How could I be an insider/ When I don’t fit in?”
Valentine is without a doubt an album about love but it’s also about the imperfections and frailties of love. One of my favourite songs from the album is called Keeper. It’s warm, melodic and raw in which Andrews asks an unsure lover “Would you bring me home to mother?/ Would you wanna cook me dinner?/ Would you hold my hand in public?/ Would you wanna tell your friends?/ Would you talk about forever?/ Would you go looking for a ring?”
The whole idea came about one night during dinner with a friend when Andrews asked her friend if she thought she was a keeper? Subsequently the two friends bonded over the heartbreaking question writing the lyrics line by line over pasta. In the chorus in contrast to her reluctant partner Andrews whole heartedly asserts she is a “keeper”. Even declaring “I would stand up for you /I would stand up for love/I would answer every call/And get over acting tough/I would bring you home to mother/Even if she don’t approve/ I would fly to meet you anywhere/ What is there to lose?”
From start to finish Andrews’ Valentine is small and epic all at once, hitting on emotional truths with her signature flare (and old soul vocals) and dotted throughout with beautiful imagery. Andrews calls the album a journey and that is reflected in the album’s sequencing which moves through junctures of love and depression within various relationships on Side A and resignation and acceptance on Side B.
The album’s closing song Hanging Man just might be its most telling track on ideas around resignation and acceptance. It’s razor-sharp in critique and Andrews feelings about it are just as intense. “Don’t wanna live playing hangman/ Always asking for vowels/ On the edge of death/ Without the truth spelled out /So tell me now/ Tell me now, tell me now.” What is she trying to say here? I think her candidness here cannot be any clearer. Stop playing games! Either act with conviction or simply don’t. Any other half-hearted answer, reason or excuse just won’t do.
Rearview Mirror 
Courtney is new to me, but what a lovely singing voice and impressive songwriting and guitar-playing skills.