Audiopile Review: By their nature, almost by definition, the most significant experimental electronic artists wilfully avoid doing the easy, obvious thing. Daniel Lopatin could have made a nice career repeating the analogue space-scapes of early Oneohtrix Point Never. Instead, he established himself as an Important Artist doing something much thornier and more original. Likewise, Claire Rousay could easily have built a career repeating the (self-described) “emo ambient” formula of 2021’s rapturously received ‘A Softer Focus’. Instead, she got into some uncompromising electro-acoustic business. ‘Sentiment’ Rousay’s Thrill Jockey Records debut is at once her most confrontational album, and her most accessible. A collection of actual songs based around acoustic guitar and digitally processed vocals, ‘Sentiment’ is at once enveloping and alienating. The tunes are great, and the arrangements are lush. But those robotic vocals and the overall mood of emotional extremity make for an intense, occasionally overwhelming listen. We can see a few of you being put off by this at first, but please give ‘Sentiment’ the time it deserves. What you’ll come to appreciate is that it’s an exceptionally listenable and rewarding album from a truly significant and important artist. Quite the sentimental journey.

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.