VALENTINE (INDIE EXCLUSIVE) (GOLD LP)

Courtney Marie Andrews has long been celebrated as an artist who challenges herself, and
who finds new interplays of Folk and Americana.. Also a vivid poet and accomplished
painter, she brings a multidisciplinary richness to her work that shines throughout her 9th
studio album, Valentine. Co-produced with Jerry Bernhardt and recorded almost entirely to
tape, the album features complete in-studio performances that prize raw performance
rather than perfection. It is Andrews's most sonically explorative record thus far - she plays
flute, high strung guitars, myriad synths, and draws heavy inspiration from her art outside of
music. Her voice is gorgeous and acrobatic always, but on Valentine it finds a new depth, an
assertiveness that brings new dimension to its biggest anthems and its softest moments.
Written during a period of profound endings and new beginnings, Valentine is a vulnerable
exploration of love vs. limerence. While anticipating the imminent loss of a loved one who
would eventually recover, a new but uncertain romance began to develop. Rather than lift
her up, the two emotional poles seemed to bleed into each other to sow doubt, trouble,
even obsession. But through her own exploration of music and art, Andrews found a way to
grow stronger inside this feeling. "I didn't want to slink into my pain, I wanted to embrace it,
own it" she says. The songs that emerged are devotional in their lyrics but defiant in their
energy; it's the very sound of a woman standing in her first wisdom. With Valentine, Andrews
rejects the objectification of love, the love filled with gestures and objects instead of trust,
mess, and growth. In doing so, she delivers her most beautiful and loving album to date.