Cassandra Jenkins Releases New 'American Spirits' Single

In anticipation of her album (An Overview on) An Overview on Phenomenal Nature, Cassandra Jenkins has just released a new track, "American Spirits." Set amidst this collection of alternative tracks and outtakes, "American Spirits" stands out for being a completely new track.

When Cassandra Jenkins brought the song to Josh Kaufman in early 2019, they recorded a quick demo and agreed to make an album together. After recording An Overview on Phenomenal Nature it was omitted it from the track list. For (An Overview) on An Overview, they revisited the demo, adding further instrumentation, revised lyrics, and a voicemail from the song's subject.

Says Jenkins: "I woke up one morning with a voicemail from an unknown number while I was on tour in 2018. The area code was from the Texas border, and I had a sinking feeling my friend had gotten arrested on his way to come see us play in Joshua Tree. I'm fortunate to be close to someone who can speak so candidly about their incarceration, and how the prison system has continuously affected their life. When we spoke recently about the voicemail in this recording, I asked him what he was feeling in that moment. He said 'I was really scared. So I called you, and I called a lawyer.'

"I cherished this voicemail for years because, even in that difficult moment, I could hear a tenderness in his voice as he confessed, as well as avoided, reporting that he had spent the night in jail. What resulted is the poetic ambiguity that can arise from the struggle of searching for the words to tell someone we love exactly what has happened."

Listen to the new track here: