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Cassandra Jenkins: My Light, My Destroyer review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week
Following her breakthrough in 2021, the singer-songwriter has overcome self-doubt to deliver a diverse album where loneliness is set against cosmic wonder
Her music is noticeably more abstract than that of the others – five of My Light, My Destroyer’s tracks are instrumentals, ranging from a sedate piece for violin and cello to jazzy, improvised brass topped with a recording of Jenkins discussing astronomy with her mum. On Delphinum Blue, the protagonist’s job in a flower shop is defined by someone else’s absence: “I sweep the floors but I’m talking to you / I see your eyes in the delphinium too.” You might expect Jenkins to be an inveterate road hog: as well as her own gigs, she’s performed as a backing musician with the Fiery Furnaces’ Eleanor Friedberger and the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, and spent her teenage years travelling between folk festivals with her parents’ band. It helps that the arrangements are beautifully done – there’s a gorgeous moment at the end of Devotion where the lyrics turn momentarily optimistic and a swell of brass slowly builds behind them – and that Jenkins’ grasp of melody is so strong: Only One might be the obvious pop standout, but the sigh of Clams Casino’s chorus and Aurora, IL’s sweet sadness run it very close.
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