Photo by Germaine Dunes

In her own solo state outside of Big Thief’s boundless rock, you could making convincing argument that Adrianne Lenker’s songwriting is even more beguiling in an understated nature. Her 2020 doubling of album, songs and instrumentals, were stylistic polar fetes in that, with the former accentuated her mastery of prose and the latter, her ear collage for the magic of field recordings. “Ruined”, our first preview into Lenker’s anticipated solo follow-up due out in the New Year, again ponders traditional songwriting methods through her singular abstraction. Here, Lenker sits behind the keys of a piano that initially begins as a straight-forward torch song before clean lines begin to dissipate through the frame of her emotions. “Can’t get enough of you / You come around I’m ruined,” her voice cracks, keys fumbling over one another, and in turn, putting into sound the beauty of romance at its messiest.

Directed by: Noah Lenker

Adrianne Lenker’s “ruined” single is available now on 4AD.