Courtney Marie Andrews – Loose Future

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Courtney Marie Andrews’ last album, Old Flowers, was essentially a piano and guitar rumination of post-break-up and slow recovery songs. In contrast, the new blooms of Loose Future have much more expansive instrumentation with organ, electronics, synths and backing voices, creating an upbeat summery vibe as love re-enters her world, whether that be romantic, self-love or hope. It opens with the title track, her vocals underpinned by woozy bass, circling drum beat and cascading synth ripples as she sings of that feeling when a new love first stirs, of not knowing where it might lead and, her heart “still busted”, scared of being burned again as she sings  “I have learned from my mistakes/There’s parts of me I can’t give away/I just wanna take it slow/Don’t wanna give a yes or no/Can we play it cool?”. It’s about fools not rushing in because there’s “Nowhere we need to be” but admitting to herself “Who am I kidding? We’re halfway there/But I’ll keep pretending that I don’t care”.

Written after an awkward first date after some time as a  singleton, Older Now rides a choppy percussive rhythm, cooking backing vocals and waterfalls of chords as, echoing the previous track, she sings how “Life is better without plans”, the song  addressing the point of being ready for change (“I wanna get it right this time”) but wary of old patterns repeating (“We both have traumatic pasts”) and it all going up in flames because “it’s not what/Our parents all said it was/No one stays together now/No one gives a damn about/Pushing through until the end”) and so ending it before it starts as she declares, “I’m never calling you again”.

The couple upstairs having sex with the TV turned up loud to drown out the sounds (“That’s just like this world we’re in/We cover up each truth with a void”), quietly strummed guitar and strings provide the canvas for On The Line, a musing on the hazards of attachment (“I’ve gotten used to moving on/Air fresheners dangling in my mirror/If you only knew how far I’ve gone/How far I’ll go to avoid these tears/Why do I give you the satisfaction of knowing I still care? You only call when it’s your love on the line”)”, haunted whistling compounding the mood, the musical landscape taking on more of a shine with her mixed back vocals shimmering through the synth-based let love in cosmic folk Satellite with its orbiting metaphor (“I like to see you shine—my favorite piece of the sky”).

The title is taken from a saying of her uncle, evoking the early Joni Mitchell with its undulating, almost tropical folksy rhythm These Are The Good Old Days is about opening yourself to the beauty of the now rather than dwelling on the ugliness of the past (“People like me think feelings are facts/Falling in love gives us a heart attack/One foot in the future, one in the past/Wanna know for sure if it’s gonna last”) and letting the time slip past you.

Conjuring 60s Brill Building pop with a country sheen and a swathe of strings, she then punches it up for the big beat, chiming guitars and organ of I’ll Be Thinkin On You, a new spin on the idea of missing someone, suggesting instead we say “I’ll be thinking on you”, meaning that while they may be physically absent (“Can’t hold your hand or pick your brain”), they are still there with you because “The heart in you is the heart in me/The stars you see are the ones I see”.

Underpinned by a steady drum beat, coloured with pedal steel and her voice warbling, You Do What You Want is an affectionate memory (“Often I remember times/With rose-colored glasses/Handing me roses”) of the sort of person we all know, the friend who always get you into trouble and pushes your boundaries, but who you love all the same (“Even with all you put me through/You’re the kind of person everyone forgives/You do what you want and somehow we’ll forget”).

The idea continues with the ethereal wash and understated twang and strum of Let Her Go, which, accompanied by choral backing voices,  she’s said is a love song for someone whose wild free spirit  (“She’s got wild flowing hair and a California ease… She’ll make you fall in love with a heart you can’t keep”) you don’t want to change or confine, accepting them for who they are (“An emotional Aries dancing to Tim McGraw/Recalling her dreams in her underwear and bra”) and then letting them go.

Tin Pan Alley influences resurface for the dreamy orchestral strings of Change My Mind, a co-write with Kate York that returns to the theme of wariness of relationships, even when they seem healthy (“You’ve given me no reason not to trust you/But I keep looking for new ways to be let down”), but which is really about how you feel about yourself (“I don’t recognize the way you see me/I don’t recognize the way you love/Something deep me inside won’t believe you/Even when you tell me I’m enough/I’m not used to feeling good/I’m not used to feeling right”) and the need for some self-love too.

Opening with piano and taken at a measured walking pace, it ends with Me & Jerry. In a recent interview, she explained that the song is about embracing and being in touch with our bodies and trying to hold onto that confident feeling. It’s a song that positively bursts with optimism (“If there’s a God above I bet he’s making love/And it’s a good day on Earth when love is enough”) as it builds to a big choir climax, letting her voice soar as she sings “I’m out of my mind” as it comes to a close. Both musically and personally, Loose Future marks something of a new journey and beginning for Courtney Marie Andrews, and, while nothing in life is certain and the future may be loose, this album is a moveable feast indeed.

Remaining Instore Dates

11^th October – Brighton, UK @ Resident

12th October – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol

13^th October – London, UK @ Rough Trade East, London 

UK & European Tour

1^st March – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club

2^nd March – Bristol, UK @ Trinity

3^rd March – Manchester, UK @ Band On The Wall

4^th March – Glasgow, UK @ Saint Luke’s

5^th March – Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny

7^th March – London, UK @ KOKO

8^th March – Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds

9^th March – Brighton, UK @ The Old Market

11^th March – Paris, FR @ Le Hasard Ludique

12^th March – Brussels, DE @ Botanique

13^th March – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso | Tolhuistuin

15^th March – Berlin, DE @ Privatclub

16^th March – Hamburg, DE @ Nochtspeicher

17^th March – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA

18^th March – Malmö, SE @ Plan B

20^th March – Uppsala, SE @ Reginateatern

21^st March – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Strand

22^nd March – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller

23^rd March -Gothenburg, SE @ Pustervik