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

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

goddamn whoever took that solo went IN

what are you all on about? i'd say a frightening consensus is building up there. i only listened to the first three minutes of that song and found them not good enough to continue to listen to the next 3 minutes. repetitive, tuneless, without interesting drumming or beats and her voice is a little annoying anyways. is the 2nd half of the song much different from the first?

lol

never change, alex, your dislike is a reliable indicator that it's gonna be something I love

can you put in words what you like about it?

sorry didn't read your post carefully. so do you like it? and if yes what do you like?

I haven't listened yet, but based on what I've heard from the most recent album they have a superb sense of defined space within their sound, nothing is wasted. And of course they are catchy as hell. I love how so much of their stuff smolders with restraint and only occasionally cuts loose.

xp btw i am not sure if i wrote it before but i always had the impression that our tastes overlap quite a lot, sleeve.

they do! that's why I'm fascinated by how much we still disagree on

i discovered them via their last album and really loved the first five or six songs which indeed where catchy and restrained and captivating. they build up an eerie atmosphere, which i love. the second half of the album got a bit boring and was more of the same with less focus. this new song does strictly nothing for me.

ha, see I really like the last half of U.F.O.F! especially "Century".

is the 2nd half of the song much different from the first?

― je est un autre, l'enfer c'est les autres (alex in mainhattan), Tuesday, August 13, 2019 2:44 PM (twenty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

...

reliable indicator your thoughts are worth expressing about a song: you listened to half of it

if u like sick ass guitar shit yeah

if you’re not willing to put the least amount of work in as a listener then i don’t think this band is for you anyway

xp. century is the last excellent song. i could do withour the last four songs. i just realise that the singer's voice reminds me a little of stina nordenstam. which i prefer a lot though.

anyone with any reasons why that last song is supposed to be good?

idk did you listen to the whole thing yet

what are you all on about? i'd say a frightening consensus is building up there. i only listened to the first three minutes of that song and found them not good enough to continue to listen to the next 3 minutes. repetitive, tuneless, without interesting drumming or beats and her voice is a little annoying anyways. is the 2nd half of the song much different from the first?

― je est un autre, l'enfer c'est les autres (alex in mainhattan), Tuesday, August 13, 2019 11:44 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

#BigThiefSquad: Abort, retreat! Alex is onto us pretending to like Big Thief just cause we're screwing with his head! Truman Show at 11!

I mean Alex, your dislike feels genuine, but "repetitive, tuneless, without innersting x" yeah ok, I mean, sure you can say that about Big Thief, but it doesn't seem like you actually listened to their latest record, or this new song (as you just admitted). Nor that you are willing to even listen to one (1) whole song.

Why shit on a song a lot of people think is great when you've not even listened to it proper?! Idgi