Upfront, Courtney Marie Andrews is one of the finest, most open-hearted singer songwriters around today. Breaking through in 2017 with her stunning LP, Honest Life, she's had a stellar couple of years professionally, touring globally and collaborating with an array of top folk and country artists. With the announcement of a new LP, Old Flowers, set for release in June via Fat Possum records, Andrews has stated that the writing and recording of this album follows on from the end of a long relationship and the journey she has taken since. She says:
"Old Flowers is about heartbreak. There are a million records and songs about that, but I did not lie when writing these songs. This album is about loving and caring for the person you know you can’t be with. It’s about being afraid to be vulnerable after you’ve been hurt. It’s about a woman who is alone, but okay with that, if it means truth. This was my truth this year — my nine-year relationship ended and I’m a woman alone in the world, but happy to know herself"
With "If I Told," the first single to be taken from Old Flowers, we find her in a stripped back, unguarded form, which contrasts the developments in sound from her last release, 2018's "May Your Kindness Remain," where she embraced gospel and soul to great effect. Here she crafts a sparse, minimalist soundscape, ably supported by multi-instrumentalist Matthew Davidson of Twain and Big Thief's James Krivchenia on percussion. Up front and centre is Courtney's voice, raw and aching with feeling, she sings mournfully of a love lived and lost "Yes, you're anxious and you're stubborn too / but I'd learn to love the worst parts of you."
Heartfelt, authentic and laced with melancholy, this latest number finds Andrews at the top of her game, destined to deliver one of the musical highlights for 2020.
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