Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith
Adrianne Lenker & Co arrived at the stoic doors of Hammersmith's capacious Apollo to rapturous applause, offering a collective embrace from which to welcome their latest material.
When the highly-appraised indie folk-rock outfit, Big Thief, left their record label Saddle Creek for 4AD before releasing their 3rd LP in 2019, many did not foresee the sonic shift that would ultimately come. Now on their 5th, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, the straightforward singer-songwriter tropes of the past have dissipated for a more seismic, experimental and rough-around-the-edges stylistic sway to their repertoire - yet all the more caring and consoling for their yearning listeners inside such venues as tonight's.
None better signified this sonic evolution, situated in the grandiose vastness of Hammersmith’s historic Apollo, than opening track ‘Flower of Blood’ - a spellbinding homage to the shoegaze-infected indie scene from the 90’s, reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins or My Bloody Valentine's caressing wall-of-sound effects, effortlessly coalescing with the penship of Elliott Smith or Phil Elverum of The Microphones. As the eerily-cast coloured lighting set upon the comparatively figurine-esque 4-piece on stage, Big Thief’s latest material seemed to transcend their physical selves and radiate with the capacious scenery before our very eyes.
The soothing folk-tinged indie rock continued in the form of ‘Simulation Swarm’, albeit slightly rushed in parts, juxtaposing the calming aura encapsulated within Apollo’s enveloping environment, as bassist Max Oleartchik and frontwoman Adrianne Lenker seamlessly traded bassline duties throughout. Yet none better typified or accentuated the grandiose nature revelling the group's recent sounds than their latest LP’s title track, casting an ethereal swelling of frequencies bolstered by Lenker’s forever-delicate vocals; supported by Buck Meek’s tenuously prolonged guitar chords, allowing the repeated cries of “I believe in you” to serendipitously resonate throughout.
Whilst ‘Free Treasure’ provided an apt solo interlude for Lenker to remain in the spotlight, the stark throwbacks to their previous material highlighted the real evolution of Big Thief. With ‘Not’s straightforward and forthright venture into indie folk-rock tropes, ‘Masterpiece’ offered the aged fans within the crowd a chance to revel in the delicately-poised subtleties caressing their music, even if a little out of place, deriving from the smaller corners in which they once performed.
However, tonight’s conclusion from the revered folk-rock outfit pointedly set an enthusiastic and upbeat tone, traversing from the light-hearted, comical tonalities of ‘Spud Infinity’ (“The last one there is a potato knish”), to ‘Cattails’ taken from 2019’s U.F.O.F., which deceptively left us on a consoling note for times of hardship: “You don’t need to know why when you cry” - a resounding Joni Mitchell-esque testament from which to depart the stage and guide the audience home.
A pertinent conclusion resided over this highly unorthodox, yet evolving, group looking to embrace their West London crowd with a warm hug to blanket over the tribulations from recent years. As Lenker implored the audience “to drink water, bend your knees a bit, look out for the person next to you and get some air”, the couple-thronged audience indelibly grew closer to one another, friends embraced, and a collective sigh from the well-bred community tonight admired the progressive growth undertaken, to date, by Big Thief.
7.5/10
Big Thief's latest LP, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, is out now via 4AD and can be found below.
Photos are courtesy of Matt Baker/Getty Images.
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