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

Revisiting Masterpiece and Capacity, which didn't really grab me the first time. Enjoying them better this time. Maybe the 2 new tracks have helped me appreciate their rock tunes more. Still, I prefer the pure weird folk of U.F.O.F., and hope that direction isn't just a one-off.

I get the feeling they're just getting warmed up

Yeah, I'm glad this new song is more single-y sounding. I hope they keep doing both the poppier stuff and the more abstract stuff.

Sadly, the singles (and Shoulders) are the best songs on this album. The rest are just ok i guess. Nothing special, much less rock-y as anticipated by many including myself.

i'm not sure it's quite as special as UFOF and "Not" is the clear standout but i'm still enjoying it a fair bit

y’all made me think it was friday

it's out there if you look for it

just heard Not, much prefer the first half to the wig-out (surprisingly?)

another amazing record imo

It's possible it took the last two albums to prepare me for this one, but this is their masterpiece.

I get the feeling they're just getting warmed up

― frame casual (dog latin), Thursday, 3 October 2019 13:45 (one week ago) link

Lenker is only like 28 years old -- I feel like her best could very much still be yet to come.

that said I just xp'd alfred and haven't listened to the one that dropped yet

Just bought the new one and am on the last song. It's great. Not is their best song.

Just bought it too, along with Richard Dawson (it's a good day for folk-rock!). Anyway, it's jaw dropping so far

Does Lenker play lead?

no one told me there's a white guy with cornrows in this band

would you like to walk some posts back

Heard “Not” when they released it last month and liked it a lot then, but it is on fire in the context of the record.

Does Lenker play lead?

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, October 11, 2019 1:14 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

I feel like I have seen videos where she does leads -- I think the really noisy/out ones are hers, not sure about others.

I just figured something out that was bugging me... so obv very different bands, but the repetitive drum beat/bass cadence of "Not" is TOTALLY Lungfish

this album is fantastic.

picked up the "desert peach" colored vinyl and it sounds great.

Heard “Not” when they released it last month and liked it a lot then, but it is on fire in the context of the record.

― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, October 11, 2019

otm, a stunner now

picked up the "desert peach" colored vinyl and it sounds great.

― omar little, Friday, 11 October 2019 20:59 (fourteen minutes ago)

Me too from Norman Records

Ugh I’ve listened to this album three times today. The only disappointing thing is that now UFOF isn’t my favorite album of the year.

Hyperbolic day-of-release praise CHECK

new thread?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWW-eKX8uSo

great performance

I still prefer U.F.O.F., but this new one is great

I listened to this once through on the way home. It’s incredibly rich and dense and almost overwhelming at first but I immediately wanted to listen to it again and will tonight. The real jaw dropping moment for me was the end of Not follows by Wolf. I actually cried a bit.

I love the sound of the record. It’s very in the room with the band, but with a touch of hyper realty. I almost felt like they were right in front of me, which is an odd sensation while driving a car.

What a double whammy. This fucking band right now.

The chord progression on "Strange" is wild. Very rare to hear these kinds of twists and turns in indie music.

High on the list of U.F.O.F.'s numerous virtues is the brief, economical, gorgeous guitar solo that closes out "Century."

hey, that's my favorite moment on the whole album

i do not get the rapturous praise from this band, which apparently comes from all quarters

uh FOR this band

I meant to say

It's okay -- I was with you until September.

if I were to be unkind I would say the hype is based on their terrible haircuts lol - cuz I sure don't hear that much remarkable in the playing or the writing (granted the lead singer's voice has a timbre I'm not fond of). It's just weird to see what scans to me as a garden-variety indie rock band with guitars getting praised to the skies in this day and age. As opposed to someone like Kurt Vile or Courtney Barnett when once you see them play it's like "oh, right this person has guitar chops for days". Obviously I'm not hearing what other people are...

The Crazy Horse vibe they strike on occasion is pretty awesome and the songwriting isn't as pedestrian as most of their peers' ('Cattails' is compellingly unsettling). Shame about her voice, though, which ruins everything.

Shakey, when have I liked bands based on terrible hair

the songwriting isn't as pedestrian as most of their peers'

Understatement of the century, lol. The songwriting is astounding.

BT singer also has serious guitar chops

how douchey the dudes in this band look really put me off tbh. they seem pretty good from what I've heard, tho not really my thing

lol Alfred

xps

Tbf they only look douchey on 85% of the pics I've seen.

singer also has serious guitar chops

idk I just watched the clips for "Not" (upthread) and some other recent TV appearance (Kimmel) and in both the singer's just strumming a few open chords, while the other guitarist is picking arpeggios higher up the neck around a single chord shape. idgi

There are some serious fashion faux pas going on, especially the bass player and drummer, but they lean into it so hard, I just have to laugh.

musicians with bad fashion and appalling haircuts, you hate to see it

https://thefader-res.cloudinary.com/private_images/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best/unnamed_ay8kk0/big-thief-ufof-interview-adrianne-lenker.jpg

What kind of hat is that?

he's just back from building a barn in east PA

I haven't had the opportunity yet to see them live (though tix go on sale tmrrw for a show here in August) -- but I've been absorbed in their albums for the past few weeks ,deeper than I've been absorbed in anything for a while. They're just so good... top-percentile albums. I'm astonished by the quality of the songwriting and performances.

Also, you can't judge a band by a ropey TV performance, everyone knows that!