Big Thief - U.F.O.F. (May 3, 2019)

saw them circa masterpiece, very good

one ear to the floor
my dog barking loud
couldn't tell for sure
where the screaming sound
was coming from

I made the effort to get a ticket and was really glad I did - they were absolutely fantastic..

Also while "Not"wouldn't fit on this record, I hope it's on the next one, I can't get it out of my head.

I haven't seen the band but I saw her solo and it was magical.

They are playing Brooklyn in October -- I hate having to plan these things so far out in advance. It's a fucking weeknight show, how can I decide five months ahead that I'll be up for it?

You buy the tickets safe in the knowledge you can sell them on (for face value) if you don’t feel like it.

(Or alternatively don't buy them in the knowledge that you can buy them face value if you feel like it (although this is probably slightly more hassle).)

was really struggling to fall asleep last night and kept putting on this record and nodding off and waking up in different pockets, really ideal even though i'm currently suffering

I Think this is growing on me slightly. I keep going back to it and little things pop out each time. I like how it doesn't sound anything like Radiohead, but there are small melodic vamps that suggest these guys grew up with Kid A and HTTT.

I really wanted to like this but her voice is the epitome of banal indie.

I had a similar feeling when I first heard them - maybe not 'banal' but 'been there, done that'. The stronger/lyrically clearer songs - Paul, Mythological Beauty - were what pulled me in, feel like this one's definitely a harder sell.

a lot of this actually does feel like a better executed version of what Radiohead were going for on some of A Moon Shaped Pool, it's not that close overall but the songwriting is very Radiohead at times ("From" in particular invokes "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" quite strongly and there's the occasional melodic fragment that feels 'Radiohead' here and there) and all the individual pieces are there for the AMSP vibes (the loose swirling piano in the background of "Cattails", the general sense of ambience, a lot of the lead guitar parts especially on "From" and "Terminal Paradise", the drumming) though they come together in a much better way than on that album

i understand how some can prefer Capacity to this if they were really into the lyrics on that but this one's so much stronger musically, but i do much prefer them going all in on the dreamy folk thing that was only one part of Capacity and still don't really care for the more straightforward indie rock songs like "Shark Smile"

this actually does feel like a better executed version of what Radiohead were going for on some of A Moon Shaped Pool

The similarities are indeed there, but 'better executed'? Pffft.

I think it's unfair to compare the two too much. Radiohead is large-scale, grandiose, maximalist. Big Thief are still grounded in acoustic folk-rock and country and this album is extremely minimalist. The only similarity is in some of the melodic and guitar elements.

tfw singing in a whispery way is the epitome of banal indie

i can see feeling that way but it's a real projection from the listener

Nah. I love whispery vocals but hers lack anything resembling a signature. I would really enjoy this album otherwise.

This is the best album ever made

let's put it this way, it is quite good. probably in this year's top ten. what i really love about it is that it is an album flowing nicely with lots of excellent songs. something very rare these days.

it hasn't got the emotional heft as Capacity.but I am a convert

never heard the band before but I put on the new one for review and damn this is impressive

1st three things I thought of, in order, were:

1. Comus "First Utterance" (lol)
2. Led Zep III
3. early Joanna Newsom

pretty special mix of sounds, catchy stuff, I'm legit impressed

I don't know anything about this band (I kept confusing them with Big Youth ), but I like this album a lot.

Check out their new Song Exploder episode. P cool.

Still the best I've heard all year (in the genre). Hits so very hard without trying to do so. Effortless brilliance, straight to the gut. Goddamn.

Coming back to this again after a break, I'm finding I especially like the second half, i.e. from Century onward.

Also would recommend if people haven't heard it - Rozi Plain - What a Boost

again not identical or anything but a very great and evocative album that has a somewhat similar feel and mix of folk/indie/jazz, def comes from a different place musically but if you like this you might like that

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, May 10, 2019 9:24 AM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink

this album is very nice, goddamn. i don't have the intense emotional reaction to it like i do to the best of big thief, but it has a similar sonic palette (especially rozi's "old money" which would've fit right on ufof)

this is still the best album of the year.

a mysterious unmarked 7in arrived with big thief b-sides. still no "not"

apparently a new new album is coming out later this year

oh wow, i'd heard rumours of an adrianne solo album coming later this year but a new album from them already is even more exciting - hard to think what could be more exciting this year

here's the press release from a retailer that put up a listing early:

“30 miles west of El Paso, surrounded by 3,000 acres of pecan orchards and only a stone’s throw from the Mexican border, the band Big Thief (a.k.a. Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik, and James Krivchenia) set up their instruments as close together as possible to capture their most important collection of songs yet. The band had only just finished work on their 3rd album, U.F.O.F. – “the celestial twin” – days before in a cabin studio in the woods of Washington State. Now it was time to birth U.F.O.F.’s sister album – “the earth twin” – Two Hands.

In sharp contrast to the wet environment of the U.F.O.F. session, the southwestern Sonic Ranch studio was chosen for its vast desert location. The 105-degree weather boiled away any clinging memories of the green trees and wet air of the last session. Two Hands had to be completely different— an album about the Earth and the bones beneath it. The songs were recorded live with almost no overdubs. All but two songs feature entirely live vocal takes, leaving Adrianne’s voice suspended above the mix in dry air, raw and vulnerable as ever. Where U.F.O.F. layered mysterious sounds and effects for levitation, Two Hands grounds itself on dried-out, cracked desert dirt.

With raw power and intimacy, Two Hands folds itself gracefully into Big Thief’s impressive discography. This body of work grows deeper and more inspiring with each new album. While you listen, let your own two hands rest in front of your body with palms facing inward and see what power grows between them.”

also the tracklist (featuring "not"!):

Rock And Sing
Forgotten Eyes
The Toy
Two Hands
Those Girls
Shoulders
Not
Wolf
Replaced
Cut My Hair

and release date is 11 october

you need to adapt your username

I'm excite, hope it's as good as U.F.O.F., which is quickly becoming one of my favorites of the year.

ahhhhhh i'm so happy! i love this band

looks like an edit of "not" is the first single and out tomorrow possibly

https://music.apple.com/au/album/not-edit-single/1473937677

it's on apple music already but nowhere else

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIcVwH47uxQ

love this, lenker's delivery of 'not the hunger revealing' especially

wow

Damn I guess I have a new favorite Big Thief song. That's amazing.

a really nice detail in this is the chime-like sounds (not sure if they're guitar or keys or some percussion) in the right channel for a lot of it

Beautiful.

wow they really are the best band in the world

New one apparently produced by same dude as Capacity (UFOF was a different producer).

UFOF I think was Luke Temple, this one is a guy named Andrew Sarlo

Hmm, er, wait, he is listed on UFOF too so IDK.

not sure why I thought it was Luke Temple

I needed this song right now

love it so much

If you’re in the UK... They just announced a little gig in London next Monday and will be playing songs off the new album. If you register now you might be able to get tickets when they’re released on Thursday.

wow this is great

musically it reminds me of Silkworm which is like the last thing I thought I would be typing

definitely a different feel than the last one