Courtney Marie Andrews

Age Restriction: 14+ with adult / 18 without

Valentine is “a record in pursuit of love,” says Courtney Marie Andrews. But love, she learned, is built on trust, change, and time—becoming something unrecognizable the deeper you go. Written at a crossroads of endings and beginnings, the album demands honesty from love while revealing a stronger, wiser Andrews. Lush yet elemental, it balances precision with vulnerability.

Since her breakthrough Honest Life (2016), the Grammy-nominated Old Flowers (2020), and Loose Future (2022), Andrews has been praised for evolving Folk and Americana. “I make records to stand alone,” she explains. Co-produced with Jerry Bernhardt and recorded mostly to tape, Valentine emphasizes live performance over perfection. Its inspirations include Lee Hazlewood, Big Star’s Third, and Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk.

The songs emerged from grief and new romance colliding: the near-death of a loved one alongside a fragile relationship. Andrews calls it limerence—consuming, painful, yet oddly empowering. Through music and painting, she found strength: “I didn’t want to slink into my pain, I wanted to embrace it.”

Lead single “Everyone Wants to Feel Like You Do” pairs sharp lyrics with a Petty-esque drive, critiquing careless masculinity. On “Cons and Clowns”, she urges, “Don’t make yourself small, baby, take up space.” “Little Picture of a Butterfly” blends traditional songwriting with flute, organ, and Brian Wilson harmonies, while closer “Hangman” insists, “love me or don’t,” defiant rather than pleading. “Keeper,” the album’s sole co-write, was written in one sitting over dinner, its desperation softened by melody.

Valentine is Andrews’s most sonically exploratory record, featuring flute, high-strung guitars, and synths, informed by her work as a painter and poet. Most of all, it reclaims her voice—not just as a tool, but as color, texture, and emotional truth. With Valentine, Andrews delivers her most vulnerable, confident, and loving album yet.