Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You

OTM

I think what makes this a good record is the way that this certain group of musicians has developed a distinctive way of playing with each other. I think they are most influenced by themselves, the accumulation of time spent on the road, the practice space, the studio... that secret language a great band has.

all of which is really hard to pin down or talk about, which is why we all have been grasping at bands to compare them to.

Something key to this band for me, though—despite all the RIYL-ing they inspire—is how they don’t feel strongly connected to any particular set of influences or musical tradition. (That’s why talk of this album in relation to “indie trends” of the past few decades doesn’t really jibe for me…)

― punching the clock on a tambo (morrisp), Monday, 21 February 2022 01:46 (two hours ago) link

I feel like you’re agreeing with me!

let's just agree to agree

A new day, a new tune from this album sinks in. Today it's the quiet, unassuming "Promise is a Pendulum" which to all extents is a rewriting of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" and might even come off a bit generic and "heard before" if it wasn't for the "I'm just sayin'" lyrical device and the way Lenker's voice does this unexpected rise and crack every so often

im glad you pointed out “suzanne” in that one because i hear it too

that's one track that needs cutting tbh, i want the whole damn band u...u GRIFTER

eh i hear the similarities to "suzanne" but it's fairly vague, just about vibe & a similar vocal phrasing rather than anything more direct

Yeah, that one has really caught me over the last couple of days too, particularly the way she sings “I’m not saying I’m not jealous, or scared anymore…”. I think it’s one where not having the whole band kind of makes sense; the song seems to be (in part) about feeling small and humbled amongst the grandeur of nature, and it being a solo performance really enhances that feeling of vulnerability.

Other one rattling around in my head right now
is the start of Love Love Love with “I already died, I’m singin’ from the other side” which lyrically, vocally and instrumentally reminds me of Magnolia Electric Co.

It’s so fun waking up each morning and realising that there’s a new part of this unexpectedly living at the front of my brain.

she literally has lyrics from "Suzanne" by Cohen tattooed on her body, assuming she's a fan!

https://pitchfork.com/features/podcast/big-thiefs-adrianne-lenker-explains-her-biggest-influences/

I learned that in this very instructive podcast done when her recent solo album was released going through her most important musical influences:

John Prine (in more recent interview she cited his influence on Spud Infinity)

Pat Methany (dad's fav)

Iris Dement (very passionate about Infamous Angels)

Leonard Cohen (New Skin in particular)

Elliott Smith (Either/Or - can't believe that never occurred to me but duh)

Nina Simone - Live at Montreux

Twain - a newer artist I'm not familiar with who she calls "the greatest living songwriter)

and.....

......drum roll.....

Fleetwood Mac - Tusk 😲😯😯

twain is mat davidson, who plays keys & fiddle on a bunch of tracks on the new album & capacity

Heraring hints of Smashing Pumpkins on “Little Things” this time around. Then again, Corgan was also a Fleetwood Mac fan so maybe it’s just FM what I’m hearing.

Ok Heavy Bend and Flower of Blood are also sounding Corgan-esque to my ears now.

I’ve been listening to Smashing Pumpkins in the past few days so my ears are biased.

And I finally remembered what 90’s band “red moon” reminded me of: Blonde Redhead

Erm… “Blurred View” not “red moon”

One song of this remind some of Hazey Jane II by Nick Drake, which might be simply down to the guitar tuning

and yet I my heart I knew that the artist themselves would not slow down the train of increasingly ludicrous "influences"

"I love John Prine and Iris Dement"

"Your new country rock album reminds me of Smashing Pumpkins"

The run from Little Things - Blurred View isn’t country/americana influenced at all though. It’s very decidedly a 90’s alt rock vibe in those tracks.

Ok maybe “little things” could be. But whatever country rock albums you’re listening to that sound like “flower of blood” I’d love to listen to.

I mean if we’re gonna spin this thing all the way out… the Pumpkins covered “Landslide,” so…

Iirc Buck Meek lists Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine on his influences, so there’s that.

One of my (and Lenker and Meek’s) favorite songs on the new record, “Jenni,” sounds like Hum’s 1995 alt-rock hit “Stars,” had it been recorded in a teenager’s humid, imploding bedroom.

But that image is perhaps even less weird and florid than the manner in which the song was actually recorded. “We hung the guitar from the rafters of a barn, from this 30-foot ceiling on a rope,” Meek explains to me. Around it, Stonehengelike, they arranged a circle of amplifiers. “[It’s] an idea I kind of stole from [Sonic Youth guitarist] Lee Ranaldo, who has an ambient set with that setup, a circle of amps.”

https://www.theringer.com/music/2019/4/30/18523793/big-thief-adrianne-lenker-ufof-capacity-band

Ah yes, country rock legends Hum and Sonic Youth.

this sucks and isn't fun

Ok. I’ll go back to listening to my favorite country song of the year so far: “flower of blood”.

I’m so glad that good bands are less fussed about genre than some of their fans are. One of the amazing things about this album is that they draw from such a wide range of influences & yet it still sounds like a cohesive thing.

The Blonde Redhead mention above — that was actually one of my first reference points when I first got into U.F.O.F. I think it was mostly her vocals and the way they sat in the mix. As I listened more and felt their folk roots more that association faded but I can still hear it.

xpost no I meant the whole thing, I hate my previous posts and contributing to turning this thread into some dire know-it-all spot the musical reference pissing contest. if they were tweets they'd be deleted

the album deserves better than ilm at it's worst

it's not even actually talking about music really just I know this well guess what I know this other thing 🤮

lol my initial pumpkins reference was very personal--and half joking-- rather than playing spot the influence, but I will say Adrienne can get a certain ache to her voice/melodies that reminded me of Corgan

Mmm Corgan is not a country rock artist, I doubt it’s intentional.

well, this week he isn't

moka i already took back all my posts on this thread ok you win congrats

Not much to add to what's already been said, this is incredible. Just amazing to listen to a band like this at the peak of their powers. I've already played it four times in full, finding more to love with each spin.

Unsurprisingly, Jim DeRogatis is absolutely wrong about this (although I guess he was otm about the "knish" rhyme), catching his review this morning once again reminded me how insufferable he can be.

Lol I’m joking. Also my original post was about how I was personally hearing a 90’s alt rock thing in that section of the album that brought SP to my mind, not that Big Thief were influenced specifically by them or saying they were.

That said, I think that one of the main reasons they’ve become one of the biggest indie acts of the past years is that they are not really operating under “indie folk” or “country rock” or whatever constraints a genre gives you. Some people are fans of John Prine and some are fans of idk… Slowdive and this is an album that could actually be of interest to both sides. I think it’s valid talking about the vast array of sounds they’re pulling - and points of references as unintentional and boring as they might be.

^ not to take anything away from this point, but this song is a very odd reference point for the big thief track “Jenni”(!):

One of my (and Lenker and Meek’s) favorite songs on the new record, “Jenni,” sounds like Hum’s 1995 alt-rock hit “Stars,” had it been recorded in a teenager’s humid, imploding bedroom.

Two things we can all agree on:

1) Dragon New Warm Mountain = classic

2) Jim DeRogatis = dud

Yep, it's just always bracing when you realize just how dud he is.

as a critic dud
as a journalist classic

That's otm. Wish he'd stick to the latter.

Catching back up, I can definitely hear the "Suzanne" influence on "Promise is a Pendulum", I was thinking the same thing on my first listen before I even saw the comparison itt. Right now "Red Moon", "Blue Lightning", "Love Love Love", "Certainty", "Spud Infinity" and "Simulation Swarm" are my favorites, but that would likely shift with another relisten.

Tbh, still trying to crack my way into appreciating "Blurred View".

It's just a really joyous song. I love the "Wanna be the vape that gets you high" line and the slightly offkey guitar lead

^^ this

It's the first song I loved after absorbing the original EP or whatever

Oh wait I meant Blue Lightning not Blurred View

yeah I love "Blue Lightning" too! "Blurred View" is the one I just haven't hit on yet.

Yeah I'm not sure Blurred View has quite sunk in either. It's a bit like Heavy Bend but through a sort of Thom Yorke filter

Some people are fans of John Prine and some are fans of idk… Slowdive and this is an album that could actually be of interest to both sides.

lol, yes to both and to this album

sing for you sing for you sing for you sing for you sing for you

that was one of the first songs that sank in for me