Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You

after five tracks of this......this is the standard for modern country. accept nothing less

i came here wary of the hype, but i do now understand it, something has been accomplished here

i even like 'little things' now

Drinking a beeEEEeeEEeeer

12,000 Lines enhanced by the birdsong in the park I'm walking through

okay, some rough thoughts, insofar as anyone needs to know what I think

- this is obviously very, very good

- yes, the chords are fairly simple, classic country chords, with the odd wrinkle, and it is an album that looks back quite a lot, and fits within an established lineage of American Music. we don't have, as we do with say Weyes Blood, medieval interpolations, weird synth textures, progged-out drama

- but what we do have is a grand play with band dynamics, with the textures of the classic Americana instruments - the layers are kept intricate, and yet a space is retained in the mix; it has the wobbly, woozy, diaphanous quality of the best music of this sort. the chords therefore become a chassis for what's really going on here: little details, little things, guitars played (or recorded) strangely, delightful vocal harmony work, songs that develop subtly and intensify or quietly pull the rug

- it stays thoroughly engaging the whole way through, and uses its length to become something more ragged, inscrutable and dare I say literary than if it'd been, say, the first ten tracks + Simulation Swarm

- lenker's lyrics and vibe don't annoy me; she's endearing and I buy how she stretches for the cosmic, again in a more goofy, ragged way than her competition for American Songwriter Of The Moment. that is still an unfair framing though; maybe it'd be better to say that her lyrics and vibe are excellent, even if the main attraction here is how it all comes together

- my favourite bit is probably still the Drum Machine Bit, because I can't help being me, lol

on second listen though, the descending chord sequence that emerges out of the stellar debris of the title-track is challenging it

I think someone said something about “love love love” and the Band upthread and it does have a rugged intensity and SOUND that reminds me of some tracks from the Basement Tapes.

Is there a breakdown anywhere of which tracks are from which sessions? Would be interesting to compare the vibes of the different recording dates and locations.

Demo recorded at The Elf Inn
"Promise is a Pendulum"

Flying Cloud Studios, NY with Sam Evian
"Certainty"
"Sparrow"
"Heavy Bend"
"12,000 Lines"

Five Star Studios, Topanga Canyon, CA with Shawn Everett
"Time Escaping"
"Little Things"
"Blurred View"
"Simulation Swarm"

Studio In The Clouds, CO with Dom Monks
"Change"
"Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You"
"Flower of Blood"
"No Reason"
"Love Love Love"
"The Only Place"

Press On Studio, Tucson, AZ with Scott McMicken
"Spud Infinity"
"Red Moon"
"Dried Roses"
"Wake Me Up to Drive"
"Blue Lightning"

here you go (source is the liner notes)

Studio in the Clouds is where Neil and Crazy Horse did Barn and Colorado

still can't hear this as anything but Tusk 2

don't hear the wilco comparisons at all

I don't think it sounds like Wilco at all, I think "Being There" was just brought up as another shambling double album example.

I often use my guitar teacher as a sounding board, because he's about 10 years older than me and doesn't know much if anything about contemporary music but is open to pretty much anything. He loves the Band and knows his instrument, so I wonder what he'll make of this.

i also don’t think this sounds like tusk (maybe occasionally)

the only downside of this album is that it is in a style that inevitably gets people talking about American rock history rather a lot

I think one of the things that makes this record so impressive is that it's in strong communication with American rock history, but is still very much Its Own Thing. Very hard to do. It's fun to pick out the potential reference points, but think about how they do it a bit differently.

Yeah I don't think it sounds like any of those other Big Albums, I think the references are more about spirit and vibe.

And thanks for that song list, those groupings really make sense. But I'm glad they jumbled them together in the track listing. (Currently I'd say Topanga Canyon is my jam, but this is the kind of album where that preference will shift over time.)

Yeah thanks for that, gonna break it down in playlists just for fun. Just adding to the praise - I've been enjoying this album so much over the last week.

good "rough thoughts" post, imago

ty it feels good to like something you all like too lol

triggercut otm

https://i.postimg.cc/7hKSZ1nw/spudamerica-1.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/7hKSZ1nw/spudamerica-1.jpg

This morning I reached the point in listening to this where I can shut off my analytical brain, stop trying to anticipate how it flows or guess what's influencing what. Just letting it play and enjoying it for what it is.

those tucson sessions seem like they were fun

Looked to me from that video posted above like Simulation Swarm is in an alternate tuning, so dug around and see she commonly uses them, which is another nice little tweak that gives her/their songs a distinct sound

Good tutorial on "symbol" for those who are interested. Haven't seen this picking pattern before, either.

youtube.com/watch?v=VmjD8CrMIX0

Ah found a video where she talks about alternate tunings--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bAugdYu8LQ

A lot of acoustic finger pickers use or need to use alternate tunings to get the drone strings going or to just let open strings resonate.

actually 'little things' sounds more like tango in the night though FM would have given it a big chorus

i'm making this up, but this morning, at least, i believe the best way to listen to music is to listen to the music and not think about where it came from or what tradition it might belong to

this belongs to the tradition of good-ass folk/country music

it's in the universe of the Band, and the reason we're all thinking of fleetwood mac is 5% tusk and 95$ because James Krivchenia, the drummer of Big Thief, is literally the same person as Mick Fleetwood. watch the red moon video. they are the same person

did i share this yet? this is the best thing i've read on the new album

https://www.talkhouse.com/sam-evian-and-james-krivchenia-big-thief-arent-gonna-do-shit-just-to-get-bigger

please ignore the title/url, it's just one thing they talk about

xxxpost Why? Tradition and where things come from is one of my favorite things about listening to music. I love hearing artists build upon or expand on ideas that came from others or before them. What was the Bowie quote about being second being better than being first?

it's great, and i often think about tradition and where things come from, who is influencing who. but it should never be a prerequisite for enjoyment (not that you or anyone else is doing that). i'm just saying, it is so nice to forget all of that for a minute and just listen to the song as it is

Oh, for sure, one of the worst things about writing about music professionally (RIP) is losing the luxury to just listen for the sake of listening.

I love how BT makes my brain fish around for comparisons/touchpoints, without taking anything away from my enjoyment of their music.

Five Star Studios, Topanga Canyon, CA with Shawn Everett
"Time Escaping"
"Little Things"
"Blurred View"
"Simulation Swarm"

yeah, holy shit. the whole album is so good that all four of the sessions come across as outstandingly productive, but that one might take the cake.

simulation swarm is just incredible

I like this bit from that interview (btw. James & Sam Evian, who did the Flying Cloud session):

Sam: (...)I think my process with overdubbing by myself is trying to make it sound like a band(...). If I don’t feel like a kid when it’s happening and if I don’t feel a little manic and dancing around like an absolute dweeb, then I’m like, this is done.

James: (...)I have a similar thing, which I try and impart on people when they’re doing an overdub. It’s like, this should be really exciting. Even though it’s just a tambo, this performance is important. It kills me when I see someone punching the clock on a tambo take because it’s like, dude pretend you’re in the room with this band.

Sam: You should be giving yourself the night sweats.

James: Totally. You feel it in the music when people take these little overdubs as if they’re nothing. You’re going to really hear this thing, it has to be more exciting than just in time.

Is it me or can I hear the scrape g of shirt buttons on the title track?

someone please grab "punching the clock on a tambo take" as a user name

there's so many good things in that interview. i love the concept of "the sauce" as well

xp Did that already! ;)

Is it me or can I hear the scrape g of shirt buttons on the title track?

idk exactly what you mean but there is a credit for "icicles" on that track and i can hear those

is it me or can I hear icicles scraping against the guitar necks on the title track?

that makes me nervous

James & Max are credited for "Icicles" on the title track in the liner notes