Adrianne Lenker – Abysskiss

Adrianne Lenker – ABYSSKISS is a solo LP from one of the most quietly compelling voices to come out of the American indie folk scene in recent years, released on Saddle Creek under catalog number LBJ 275.

Adrianne Lenker and the Weight Behind Big Thief

Most people who follow independent folk and rock know Adrianne Lenker as the singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of Big Thief, a band that built a devoted following through raw emotional honesty and an almost uncomfortably intimate sound. What those records demonstrate, album after album, is that the center of gravity in that project is Lenker herself. Her writing carries a particular quality: plainspoken language that lands harder than it has any right to, melodies that feel half-remembered rather than constructed. Her solo work strips even the modest arrangements of Big Thief away and gets closer to the source.

What ABYSSKISS Is and Why It Matters

Released in 2018, ABYSSKISS arrived between Big Thief records and functions less as a side project than as a private document made public. The album is largely acoustic and spare, the kind of record that rewards close, quiet listening. Where a band setting provides structure and momentum, here Lenker carries everything herself, and the result feels genuinely exposed. For listeners who came to her through Big Thief, this record fills in something that the full band can’t quite reach. For listeners coming to it fresh, it stands completely on its own terms. Saddle Creek, the Omaha-based independent label with a long track record of releasing considered, carefully handled records, was a natural home for something this unguarded.

The Adrianne Lenker – ABYSSKISS Pressing

This is the Saddle Creek LP pressing, catalog LBJ 275. Saddle Creek has been pressing vinyl seriously for decades and their releases are consistently well-produced, making this a solid physical edition of a record that genuinely benefits from the format. Quiet, close recordings like this one tend to translate well to vinyl, where the warmth of the medium suits the intimacy of the material. If you’re a collector building out a complete picture of Lenker’s work, or a Big Thief fan who hasn’t spent time with her solo output, this is the LP to track down. It’s a small, carefully made record, and having it on wax feels right.