Loose Future

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
American Songwriter	[3]
Beats Per Minute	75%/100%[4]
Gigwise	[5]
Mojo	[6]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[7]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[8]
The Telegraph	[9]
Uncut	8/10[10]
Under the Radar	[11]

Loose Future was met with universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 81, based on eleven reviews.[1]

In his review for AllMusic, Mark Deming stated: "though Loose Future lacks a bit of the grand-scale drama of Honest Life and Old Flowers, it's full of well-crafted songs performed with the skill and passion they deserve, and it's another worthy album from a songwriter who only gets better as she matures".[2] Grayson Haver Currin of Mojo found that the album "positions Andrews between Waxahatchee and Angel Olsen, a triumvirate of singer-songwriters finding new alleyways in and out of familiar territory. These 10 absorbing songs, likewise, are testaments to remaining in motion".[6] Amaya Lim of The Line of Best Fit felt the album "embraces uncertainty and jumps headfirst into big emotions, but with acute self-awareness".[8] Siobhan Grogan of The Telegraph called it "a gloriously mellow record, the sound of an artist remembering there's a life beyond her touring schedule and daring to enjoy it".[9] Sharon O'Connell of Uncut saw it "not quite experimental, but there is evolution in this superbly judged set".[10]

John Amen of Beats Per Minute wrote: "produced by Sam Evian, Loose Future is brighter and more buoyant than Andrews' prior output, the Arizona-born artist displaying her well-honed songwriting and impressive vocal skills while adopting a pop-adherent sound".[4] Writing for Pitchfork, Stephen Thomas Erlewine resumed: "the smooth, radiant production doesn't amount to commercial pandering: it's assured, exploratory, and warm music that mirrors Andrews' newly opened heart".[7]

Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter wrote: "it just over a half hour, the short but compelling set finds a generally chipper—if somewhat guarded—Andrews expanding her musical boundaries and peering cautiously to a brighter, more fulfilling, and looser future ahead".[3] Dillon Eastoe of Gigwise wrote: "cosy as the recording technique is, Andrews is in a relatively playful mood, adding some analogue vocal effects and playing with old school synthesisers alongside the retro timbre of mandolin and pedal steel".[5] Chris Thiessen of Under the Radar wrote that the album "invites us into a place of delight and reminds us that "These Are the Good Old Days", that it's okay to eschew the five-year plan and greet the future with open hands, that a gratuitous smile or warm song can be truly life-giving".[11]

• Courtney Marie Andrews – vocals, songwriter, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, producer, artwork
• Kate York – songwriter (tracks: 1, 9)
• Sam Griffin Owens – acoustic guitar, slide guitar, twelve-string guitar, bass, Hammond organ, cymbal, producer
• Josh Kaufman – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, twelve-string guitar, synth, dulcimer, mandolin, harmonium
• Dan Iead – steel guitar
• Jared Samuel – bass, piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, synthesizer
• Chris Bear – drums, bongos, cabasa, congas, shaker, tambourine, woodblock
• Colin Nealis – strings (tracks: 3, 6, 9)
• Austin Vaughn – shaker (tracks: 8, 10)
• Heba Kadry – mastering

• Courtney Marie Andrews – Loose Future at Discogs (list of releases)