“Some songs were written only hours before recording and stretched out instantly, first take, vocals and all.”
From the barren depths of a cabin room buried within the rural state of Washington, comes the elusive third LP from the Brooklyn indie-folk outfit, Big Thief. Fronted by the enigmatic Adrianne Lenker and her handful of free-spirited cronies, the act gained waves of critical attention with their preceding sophomore LP in 2017, Capacity, described as an “intricately built folk rock record”. Yet the intimate outpourings of Lenker’s heartache onto those older tracks seem like a distant, foggier memory caught up in the exuberant mystique of this ethereal record. In such shortened takes and spur-of-the-moment writings, this LP garners something new for this act - a freer, holistic package wrapped up with their most impressive set of tracks to date.
Clanky, rolling guitars ease us into the fray of Lenker & Co’s natural surroundings, permeating themselves amongst the first few tracks of this LP. Such organic sonics revel within the reverberating instrumentation at play, predominantly guitars, drums, and bass, imminently sounding different from their previous musical efforts. From ‘Contact’s myriad of distant screams, to ‘UFOF’s electronically-tinged vocal glitches, and ‘Cattails’ incredulously-repetitive acoustic refrains, Big Thief’s unbound spirit enlightens us to interconnect with their natural environment. Whilst the folky sheens of Sufjan Stevens and Fleet Foxes still remain at the core of these first few tracks, Big Thief have undeniably fought for something new and unique with such intricately experimental tones casting aside the more structured bindings of the past.
‘From’ and ‘Terminal Paradise’ are excavated from Lenker’s cherished solo work, and ultimately embellished amongst their various heart-ridden facets. The raw, capacious feel imbued by the cabin’s recording room works wonders within the backdrop, incorporating distant harmonised vocals and hand clappings. Once again, this act have extended their exploratory hands to mold their former sounds - masterfully exploiting their surroundings amidst ruffling guitars, distorted background notes and an exceptional crescendoed conclusion basked within ‘Terminal Paradise’.
The LP’s mid-section reels back from these lofty heights in the form of ‘Open Desert’ and ‘Orange’, allowing Lenker’s lyrical pertinence to shine through. “Vacant angel, crimson light, darkened eyelash, darkened eye” dreamily bolsters the foray of elongated guitar refrains and soaring high-pitched synth notes - notably tying us into the LP’s central theme of “making friends with the unknown.” Amongst the brooding acoustic mystique reminiscent of Radiohead’s ‘Desert Island Disc’ for the following track on the LP 'Century', Lenker’s surroundings are clearly at the epicentre - infiltrating her relationships, emotions, and collective sound.
Ironically, ‘Strange’ deems a strange track to follow on from the aforementioned facades encasing Big Thief’s repertoire - bizarrely dipping their toes into the precarious waters of folk-pop buried at the track’s chorus. Although Lenker’s vocal melodies plateaus in douses, the successor track ‘Betsy’ churns her vocal reach even further downward, impressively emulating the seminal folkier likes of Nick Cave and Tom Waits. Along with the various references to Jodi, Jenni, Caroline, Violet, and Betsy, our notion of Lenker’s confidants and friends are superfluously marred, comparatively dissimilar to the notion of familial history strewn throughout their previous LP.
The tumultuous ride of the LP’s mid-section unfortunately bleeds into its sticky conclusion of ‘Jenni’ and ‘Magic Dealer’. The former track strangely delves into the reminiscent tones of the 90's soft grunge/post-rock scene with light guitar distortions and vocal leads reminiscent of Smashing Pumpkins back in their hayday. Whilst the soft-rock pawn does little to fit into the overall chess game of heavenly folk-rock, the LP’s concluding track returns to the intrinsic matter of befriending other species fixed amongst the delicate electronic screeches whirring away. In vain of the weaker tracks, the jarring conclusion does well to tie together Big Thief’s motif of acquainting oneself with the ‘other’ - namely with the UFO’s return in the form of light screeches whisking the entourage away in its ethereal stride.
If you’ll excuse the pun, the audacious efforts amongst this indie-folk LP may alienate some of the long-term Big Thief fans given their remarkable shift away from their comparatively meticulous repertoire. Yet, similar to the cabin-bound recordings of Bon Iver’s debut LP, Adrianne Lenker’s act have atmospherically delved into another dimension - one where many respected folk outfits dare not breach. As a long-term fan of this band, a sense of pride washes over me with each rotation of this record - marking a new era for this genre led by one of the most otherworldly (perhaps alien-like) singer-songwriters of this decade.
8.5/10
Big Thief's latest 3rd LP, U.F.O.F., is out now and can be found here.
Tickets for their upcoming UK tour are on sale now and can be found here.
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