Courtney Marie Andrews Valentine
Courtney Marie Andrews's Valentine opens as a late-night confessional where her voice does most of the work, and critics largely agree the record rewards close listening. Across six professional reviews the album earned a 74/100 consensus score, with reviewers repeatedly pointing to a handful of tracks that carry the e
The best song is notable for balancing vintage influences with Andrews' intimate candour, exemplified by “Pendulum Swing”.
The best song is "Little Picture Of A Butterfly" because its ambient and electronic touches expand Andrews' sound and stand out on the record.
Best for listeners looking for intimacy and regret, starting with Cons and Clowns and Pendulum Swing.
Full consensus notes
Courtney Marie Andrews's Valentine opens as a late-night confessional where her voice does most of the work, and critics largely agree the record rewards close listening. Across six professional reviews the album earned a 74/100 consensus score, with reviewers repeatedly pointing to a handful of tracks that carry the emotional weight - notably “Pendulum Swing”, “Cons and Clowns”, “Keeper”, “Little Picture of a Butterfly” and “Magic Touch”.
The critical consensus emphasizes Andrews' songcraft and vocal texture: Pitchfork and Far Out underscore the piercing highs and ambient flourishes of “Pendulum Swing” and “Magic Touch”, while Clash, Mojo and Glide highlight the tenderness and restraint on “Keeper” and “Cons and Clowns”. Reviewers note an indie folk/Americana core threaded with subtle electronic and retro production touches, which foregrounds intimacy, longing and honesty rather than flashy arrangements. Critics consistently praise moments of immediacy - goosebump-inducing openings, quivering sighs and whispered vulnerability - that make the record's best songs feel cinematic and communal.
Perspectives diverge on lyrical ambition and overall impact: some reviews call parts of the album pleasantly beautiful but occasionally background-like, while others value its emotional restraint and late-night clarity. Taken together, professional reviews suggest Valentine is a nuanced, often moving collection where standout tracks provide clear entry points for anyone asking whether Valentine is worth hearing. Scroll down for full reviews and track-by-track notes on the record's most memorable moments.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Cons and Clowns
4 mentions
"The gentle acoustic strum of "Cons of Clowns" blossoms into a full-out statement of defiance,"— Glide Magazine
Keeper
4 mentions
"Keeper' is a strong point of the album, featuring quivering vocal sighs and country influences over a pulsating beat."— Clash Music
Pendulum Swing
4 mentions
"If I get what I want, gotta let the pendulum swing, can't be good for too long, let the pendulum swing"— Clash Music
the melody and chordal movement of "Little Picture of a Butterfly," which at times recalls the shape of Kris Kristofferson’s "Help Me Make It Through the Night.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Pendulum Swing
Keeper
Cons and Clowns
Magic Touch
Little Picture of a Butterfly
Outsider
Everyone Wants To Feel Like You Do
Only the Best for Baby
Best Friend
Hangman
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 6 critics who reviewed this album
Am
Critic's Take
I’m a fan of Courtney Marie Andrews, and on Valentine her voice holds you throughout, intimate and emotionally precise. This is a late-night, bedroom album where tenderness and regret thread tracks like “Little Picture of a Butterfly” and “Outsider”, and those plainly landing lines are why the album lingers.
Key Points
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The album’s core strengths are restrained arrangements, literate songwriting, and a consistently intimate, late-night atmosphere.
Themes
Critic's Take
The album prizes immediacy over polish, and on “Pendulum Swing” Andrews folds Fleetwood Mac echoes into her Americana voice, refusing rose-tinted certainties. Across Valentine the production stays reserved so lyrics and vocals can inhabit the room, and the closing “Hangman” cements the record’s radical honesty.
Key Points
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The best song is notable for balancing vintage influences with Andrews' intimate candour, exemplified by “Pendulum Swing”.
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The album's core strengths are vocal texture, emotional honesty, and reserved production that foregrounds lyrics.
Themes
Critic's Take
Courtney Marie Andrews’s Valentine finds its strongest moments in deeply felt songs such as “Outsider” and “Best Friend”, where her unguarded honesty makes the emotional stakes feel immediate. The review’s voice lingers on her alchemic touch, noting how “Little Picture of a Butterfly” and “Keeper” turn turbulence into music that is moving, beautiful and uplifting. There is a steady sturdiness here - she refuses to sentimentalise pain, and that restraint is what makes these tracks the best on Valentine.
Key Points
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The best song, notably "Outsider", earns its place through ABBA-worthy melancholy and dreamlike ambience that crystallise the album’s emotional core.
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Valentine’s core strengths are its unguarded honesty, melodic subtle daring, and an ability to turn turbulence into music that is moving and uplifting.
Themes
Critic's Take
Courtney Marie Andrews's Valentine is propelled by her arresting voice and a handful of songs that do the heavy lifting, particularly “Pendulum Swing” and “Magic Touch”. Goldberg pins the record to performances - from the "piercing high" that opens “Pendulum Swing” to the "witchy, minor-key swell" of “Magic Touch” - and argues those tracks show why listeners ask for the best songs on Valentine. She praises the album's chamber-folk production and vintage synth flourishes that let those best tracks punch through the record's occasional melodrama. The result is a collection whose strongest moments feel communal and cinematic, even when the lyrics retreat from concrete detail.
Key Points
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The best song, "Pendulum Swing," is best because it immediately displays Andrews' piercing vocal command and sets the album's emotional tone.
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Valentine's core strengths are its dazzling vocal performances and lush, vintage-informed chamber-folk production.
Themes
Critic's Take
At once careful and adventurous, Courtney Marie Andrews's Valentine spotlights standout moments like “Magic Touch” and “Keeper” that elevate the record. Jim Hynes writes with measured admiration, noting the return of vulnerability even as the rawer edges have been smoothed by recognition and polish. He praises Andrews' songwriting craft and layered sonics, arguing these strengths make the best songs on Valentine the record's most affecting moments. The result is an album where memorable tracks balance ache and defiance, answering queries about the best songs on Valentine with clear examples rather than grand pronouncements.
Key Points
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The best song, exemplified by "Magic Touch", succeeds because of its hymn-like joy and layered production that spotlight Andrews' strong songwriting.
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The album's core strengths are disciplined songwriting, vulnerability in lyrics, and sonically adventurous arrangements despite a smaller ensemble.
Themes
Fa
Critic's Take
Courtney Marie Andrews’s Valentine is presented in Lucy Harbron’s measured, conversational cadence: it is good, lovely and beautiful but rarely more than that. The review keeps returning to Andrews' flawless voice as the album's saving grace, even as lyrics like those on “Outsider” are dismissed as limp.
Key Points
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The best song is "Little Picture Of A Butterfly" because its ambient and electronic touches expand Andrews' sound and stand out on the record.
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The album’s core strengths are Andrews' flawless, beautiful voice and a broader, more cinematic sonic palette, even as lyrics sometimes feel thin.