It's like Adrianne Lenker's music but before the world broke her heart.
A bright, gentle optimism that feels like morning light through a clean window.
Released in 2013, Ringing Bells serves as a vital bridge between Adrianne Lenker's early years as a child prodigy and her eventual emergence as the frontwoman of Big Thief. Recorded before the high-tension, raw emotionality of 'Hours Were the Birds' or 'abysskiss', this EP showcases a more melodic and structurally traditional side of her songwriting. The production is notably cleaner and more 'studio-ready' than her later lo-fi experiments, highlighting the technical precision of her fingerstyle guitar playing. While the lyrical depth that would define her career is present, it is filtered through a lens of youthful optimism and folk-pop accessibility. The track 'Lighthouse' remains a fan favorite for its soaring melody, while 'Adonijah' hints at the more complex, biblical, and metaphorical songwriting she would later master. It stands as a document of an artist in a state of grace, before the grit and distortion of the road began to color her sound.
Put this on for
first light hitting the floorboards while the kettle whistlesdust motes dancing in a sunbeam during a slow Sundaydriving toward the coast with the windows halfway downwriting a letter you might never actually mailbare feet on a wooden porch before the world wakes upquietly folding laundry while the house is finally stillwatching the tide come in from a safe distance
Moments worth waiting for
The bright, cascading guitar figure that opens Lighthouse, setting a tone of gentle optimism.
The layered vocal harmonies on Sailor that create a soft, protective wall of sound.
The shift to a more grounded, rhythmic strumming pattern on Even When You're Old.
Sounds like
2013s production with a 2010s soul
Sits beside
The Creek Drank the Cradle - Iron & Wine, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning - Bright Eyes, Sprained Ankle - Julien Baker, Masterpiece - Big Thief
Lyrical territory
love_romantic, nostalgia, nature
03Deviation
Ringing Bells · vs · Adrianne Lenker
Artist
This Album
Love_romantic
Lyrics · ↓ −7% less than usual
On this album, love_romantic sits about 7% less prominent than across the rest of the artist's catalogue.
