An Overview on Phenomenal Nature

An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
Studio album by
Cassandra Jenkins
ReleasedFebruary 19, 2021 (2021-02-19)
Length31:44
LabelBa Da Bing
Cassandra Jenkins chronology
Play Till You Win
(2017) 		An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
(2021) 		My Light, My Destroyer
(2024)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Beats Per Minute79%[3]
Exclaim!8/10[4]
Pitchfork8.3/10[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

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

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

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

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

An Overview on Phenomenal Nature on year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2021
32
[14]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2021
17
[15]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2021
17
[16]

Track listing

An Overview on Phenomenal Nature track listing
No.TitleLength
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

  1. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Monger, Timothy. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Cohn, Ben (February 22, 2021). "Beats Per Minute Review". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Bell, Kaelan (February 17, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins' 'An Overview on Phenomenal Nature' Is an Iridescent Folk-Jazz Odyssey". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (February 19, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins: An Overview on Phenomenal Nature". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  6. ^ H, Rob (January 22, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins Takes Us On An Existential Tour in the Ethereal Travelogue". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Rettig, James (January 5, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins Announces New Album". Stereogum. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  8. ^ Rettig, James (January 20, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins – Hard Drive". Stereogum. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  9. ^ "Michelangelo – Cassandra Jenkins". YouTube. January 5, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  10. ^ "Hard Drive – Cassandra Jenkins". YouTube. January 21, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  11. ^ "Crosshairs – Cassandra Jenkins". YouTube. February 10, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  12. ^ Minsker, Evan (February 9, 2021). "Cassandra Jenkins Shares Video for New Song "Crosshairs"". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  13. ^ "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  14. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura (December 17, 2021). "The 50 best albums of 2021". theguardian.com. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  15. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Paste. November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  16. ^ Strauss, Matthew (December 7, 2021). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 8, 2021.