Claire Rousay - Sentiment

sentiment is a meditation of the poignant emotional terrains of
loneliness, nostalgia, sentimentality, guilt, and sex. The album’s narrative
arc is guided by delicate musical gestures and artistic vulnerability,
audaciously synthesizing disparate and unexpected influences. claire
rousay is a singular artist, known for challenging conventions in
experimental and ambient music forms. rousay masterfully incorporates
textural found sounds, sumptuous drones and candid field recordings
into music that celebrates the beauty in life’s banalities. Her music is
curatorial and granular in detail, deftly shaped into emotionally affecting
pieces. rousay’s vocals and guitar take center stage on sentiment. Her
intimate, diaristic lyrics contrast with her mechanical-inflected vocal
effects, emphasizing a powerful desire for connection, a deep yearning
and a lingering sense of separation.

The spare guitar playing and laconic tempo both drive the songs and
exude a sense of resignation. Her delicate mastery of nuance draws on
her explorative musical past that she, with sincerity and admiration,
seamlessly interweaves into her adventurous textures and distinctive
compositions. “I want to belong to the worlds and communities I look up
to. Same as someone using a Fender guitar or dressing like Kurt Cobain.
Emulate your heroes,” says rousay. The album balances the poetic
soul of her influences with a documentarian heart, rousay capturing
moments of her life while living alone in houses across the country,
learning to play guitar, and reconnecting with pop music. Her innate
ability to conjure pure feeling from sound derives from her delightful
embrace of pop forms, the vulnerability found in field recordings,
minimalistic arrangements and innovative sound choices. sentiment is
blissfully, achingly melancholic, and an undeniably sensual listening
experience.