Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You

one Jew friend on bass, checkmate libs

I did some poking around on Max recently; turns out his dad is a well-known(?) Israeli rock & jazz musician, and his grandfather was a composer(originally from Poland)

I'm sure the shows will sell out anyway (not least with plenty of non-observant Jews buying tickets), and planning a tour is pretty challenging. Is there a northeast city they could have played those days instead that doesn't have a significant Jewish population?

i feel like the only person in the world who hasn't heard the full album yet

i wish it would just come out

I haven't heard it, and haven't listened to most of the tracks that have been released, but I am under the impression it contains a problematic pronunciation of a popular Jewish appetizer

man alive, just being tongue in cheek about the fact that i'll prob have to miss those shows lol

knish-gate

Having read the Pfork review, I totally agree w/ufo's take on this bit (re: "Spud"):

The cumulative effect is something like a full-band version of the goofy southern accent Mick Jagger puts on when he sings country songs, which seems, for him, like a way of putting genre in quotation marks, signaling his awareness of his own inauthenticity by amplifying the hokiest parts of the put-on. Though Big Thief have taken many approaches to their music over the years, this sort of winking magpie postmodernism has not been one of them, so it’s strange to hear them leaning into a schtick.

I just don't hear "schtick" or quotation marks in that song, and I agree that the review gets to the "right place" in the next paragraph... but why even go for that point in the first place?

(Other parts of the write-up are really good, though)

To put it another way - I think the "earthy" style and presentation of that song naturally (and wonderfully) follow from its subject matter.

I agree with that; I don't hear air quotes around the country & western arrangement. But I see where the reviewer is coming from because the Jew's harp boing-boing sounds inherently goofy to me. I also love it and think it suits the song very well.

It's music!

https://uproxx.com/indie/big-thief-dragon-new-warm-mountain-i-believe-in-you-review/

The New Big Thief Album Is A Masterpiece
Steven Hyden
They recorded 45 songs in all, 20 of which are included on their staggering new double album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. This may strike some as hyperbole but I don’t care because it’s true: As strong as the other Big Thief albums are, they feel like rough drafts for what they’ve finally achieved here. I’ve had a promo of Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You for a few months, and it already feels like the kind of album that’s destined to be handed down from generation to generation, like Automatic For The People or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It’s music I know I will reach for on epic road trips or in the midst of profound grief. An all-timer. A masterpiece. They really did it this time.

― Indexed, Tuesday, February 8, 2022 12:33 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

man he does a really good job of making something dope seem lame as hell

is it out yet? only thing im seeing on streaming is 8 songs called ‘simulation swarm’

out tonight/tomorr

xp if only this was the actual album, a bait-and-switch sci-fi horror

the CD I pre-ordered via 4AD/Bandcamp apparently won't arrive until next Thursday, sadly (keep me in your thoughts during this difficult time)

I pre-ordered from Norman Records and it's been mailed and coming tomorrow.

the CD I pre-ordered via 4AD/Bandcamp apparently won't arrive until next Thursday, sadly (keep me in your thoughts during this difficult time)

― False Pretenses Lad (morrisp), Thursday, February 10, 2022 1:27 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

in the same boat :/

was hoping to avoid listening until i had the vinyl

Listening to UFOF and damn that second half is so good. Really looking forward to this new one

LP has arrived

THIS IS SO GOOD

*finished 80-minute 2xLP*

*immediately goes in for repeat listen*

5 stars. 2 thumbs up, WAY UP! 16 academy award nominations. 11 academy award wins. the hugo award winner for the 5th straight year!

that's my grandma

I listened to half the new songs last nite, but finding it a little hard to "get into" checking out the rest. It's kind of formidable, for some reason! I'll probably have to dip into it here & there.

xp
now they're america's grandma

i'm listening on bluetooth headphones as i go around my apartment doing things, cleaning, working on stuff.

god, perfect ending to the album, too. it's amazing how much these songs go in different directions but the flow is impeccable, particularly on the back half of the album.

Flower of Blood/Blurred View is such a moody combo and then they're kicking it back up again with Red Moon. Brilliant stuff.

I’m coming back up for “blurred mind” for the second time, I can’t wait.

what is this "that's my grandma" thing, what did i miss

it's yelled in one of the songs before an instrumental break

ah ... got it. maybe i will hear it when i stop listening to "Certainty" over and over

LP has arrived

― Pfunkboy AKA (Oor Neechy), Friday, February 11, 2022 7:29 AM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Waiting on mine to listen to this but might break

here's the video for their hit song "that's my grandma"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMD2OGlgAEg

that's my grandma

― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson),

love this moment

i'm on track 2 and this already rules

omg this album

every melodic turn on the title track is like the best thing ever

The closing song is really nice; I also love "Red Moon" (as I already did, from the YT clips). I feel like it will really take some time to settle into the album as a whole. Honestly not sure if knowing half the songs upfront is a benefit or handicap...

haven't listened to the album yet (going to shortly), but i'm thinking that it would make the prospect of diving into a 20-song, 80-minute album a bit less daunting

Fine! I’ll listen to it

I’m not sure what’s more daunting - the sheer length and quantity of songs, or the thick brush of hyperbole that has built up after months of anticipation. I’m having trouble simply sitting and listening to this album.

Other than that stupid review about this being handed down like a treasured family heirloom, I can't say I've seen a lot of hyperbole, just a whole lot of excitement and enthusiasm. But, yeah, I can absolutely see how this comes with a lot of weight behind it.

You should check the threads on ILM

I don't know about hyperbole, per se, but there is a kind of "breakthrough" vibe to this. Like, if anything I feel like their other albums were in their own hard to describe way tougher to get into, but this one, through sheer quantity and consistency (in all its shambling, why not, "Tusk"-y inconsistency) is maybe harder to ignore. I mean, I'm listening to it right now, and my younger kid is decorating a cake, and while I don't know if she likes it, she hasn't told me to turn it off, which is something. It's undeniably pleasant (so far; I'm not done) and is just mysterious enough, just has this great aura about it, like the first couple of Band records or, sure, "Have One on Me."

you know him as joe the policeman from the what's goin down episode of that's my grandma

(lol daughter just told me she doesn't like it, because it's "weird.")

oh my kids HATE big thief

my mum loves this band so idk that their previous stuff was hard to get into or anything

new album certainly has some of their most straight-forward material ever, but also captures them at their most experimental

Just found out that they did a cover of one of my favourite Breeders songs

https://open.spotify.com/track/4NYetbTj4AQnbpUeaqhbVy?si=iRGYx39cS5amV9yiKCqXvg&utm_source=copy-link"> https://open.spotify.com/track/4NYetbTj4AQnbpUeaqhbVy?si=iRGYx39cS5amV9yiKCqXvg&utm_source=copy-link

(Off You in case the link doesn't work)