Charlotte Cornfield – ‘Hurts Like Hell’ album review: Disregard what you know
There is an argument to be made that all the best music in the world is made by people with an academic background, but who totally disregard all that. Charlotte Cornfield stands as a good example, especially on her latest album, Hurts Like Hell.
The Skinny: Lou Reed’s lyrical power comes from his English degree. Brian Eno’s legacy was born from his art school days. In modern music, Laufey’s classical background and days spent at Berklee studying her instruments honed her ability. But in each case, the magic then comes from those students taking the core from their experience and tossing out the stuck-up excess.
Or, it comes from them taking the skills they learnt but disregarding the rigid ideas of what they were then supposed to do with their education. Cornfield exists in that same boat as initially, she trained and got a whole degree in jazz drumming. Instantly conjuring up the image of an intensive Whiplash-style education, I’m sure none of her teachers expected that years down the line, she’d be making folk rock.
Cornfield’s music exists in a very distinct ‘for fans of’ box, but it’s an off-kilter one. The easiest comparison is to say that Hurts Like Hell would be for fans of Big Thief, especially given that one of the members, Buck Meek, features on the record. But it aligns with the band because of the same kind of looseness. This is an album undeniably made with knowledge and skill, but it’s made outside of that, leaning solely into feel rather than any strict form.
That gives it a great variety. Its title track is folk rock through and through, while ‘Lucky’ is heavier yet more energetic, more pop-rock. The vocal melody of ‘Living Room’ is so languid that it feels like something else altogether, right on the border between a song and a poem.
Despite not being the sparkiest song on the album by any means, there is something about ‘Squiddd’ that stands out beautifully as an ode to being in a band and seeing bands. “I wanna share files with you,” Cornfield and the album’s collaborators sing, and I’m sure anyone in a band would recognise that as the tenderest sentiment of love between artistic peers.
Never in a million years would I expect that Cornfield was a jazz drummer, and maybe my biggest critique comes from that point. It would be interesting to see her bring more of her old home genre into the mix and meld things into something interesting. But the jazz does still live on as an ethos and a mindset in her refusal to be rigid or easy to box in.
Stand out track: ‘Squiddd’
The Verdict: Hurts Like Hell is a good album – it’s atmospheric, warm, cosy, dynamic enough to keep attention there and undeniably made well. It lacks a certain grip, but in the world of that kind of formless folk rock, where the likes of Adrianne Lenker and the Boygenius crowd exist, grip can be hard to create in the sweet softness. But everything has its place, and for those in the market for something lyrically led and tender, look here.
Release date: 27th March, 2026 | Producder: Phil Weinrobe | Label: Merge
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