Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I POLL You

for me it's probably "flower of blood" or "little things" these days but "no reason" could be up there too? astoundingly generous album

taeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Could pick about half the album but defaulted to “Simulation Swarm.”

"No Reason" for its melody and the flute.

"Blurred View" by a wide margin for me
(as someone eagerly awaiting Portishead's Fourth if it ever arrives, much prefers U.F.O.F. as a full-length listen/production, and was first floored by Shawn Everett's sound design [w/ B. Mills' input there, but still] on Alabama Shakes' Sound & Color)

maffew12 otm

but since that will probably get lots of votes, i'll mention “blue lightning,” which pops into my head all the time. buried at the end of the album, but it’s one of its prettiest melodies. love buck meek’s country-fried guitar solo

Considering:

Change
Spud Infinity
Certainty
Little Things
Simulation Swarm

Should I listen to this album if I thought Capacity was perfect and the two albums after it were uneven and not my thing?

Yes!

Yes!

Hard. Lots of great tunes but no standout. I'll go with Certainty.

I think this is my favorite album from this decade, voting for "Simulation Swarm"

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Flower of Blood or Blurred View

Fuck it blurred view

GOd I loved this to bits when it came out and then one day I couldn't listen to it any more. I wonder if my feelings towards it might have changed if I listened to it today? Hard not to vote for Spud Infinity but No Reason, Red Moon, Blue Lightning and Promise Is A Pendulum are also all very lovely

going with "flower of blood"

but since that will probably get lots of votes, i'll mention “blue lightning,” which pops into my head all the time. buried at the end of the album, but it’s one of its prettiest melodies. love buck meek’s country-fried guitar solo

otm

voting spud infinity though change is one of the all time three chord songs and lyrics hit hard

red moon an effortless joy

they may never top this

I'm not at all a country fan, but it's the country-flavoured moments that really lift this record for me

Have to say, I was unmoved by Vampire Empire; in fact it brought out BT's more cloying tendencies

Should I listen to this album if I thought Capacity was perfect and the two albums after it were uneven and not my thing?

― The king of the demo (bernard snowy), Tuesday, January 23, 2024 7:46 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

I couldn't imagine enjoying Capacity but not UFOF - I guess Capacity is more immediate? Anyway, you definitely should check this one, it's their best and also a lot more varied in style than anything they've done before so you're bound to find something you like

Closest thing I would compare it to is something like Wowee Zowee where it's sprawling yet all of a piece, and you could play it in any order and have a good time

Of course it's not just about the big moments, but there are lovely understated tracks like Heavy Bend that really stand out once Spud Infinity finally wears thin

I was unmoved by Vampire Empire; in fact it brought out BT's more cloying tendencies

studio version just wasn't a good recording of it, "born for loving you" suffered in the same way

Where can I hear a good version pls ufo?

Man, Promise Is A Pendulum is still so tender and heartbreaking. This album didn't come out all that long ago but listening to it again for the first time in a while drives home what a different wplace my head was in 2020 compared to today.

I was not long out of a relationship that had lasted through almost all of the Covid era until it didn't, subsquently falling obsessively in love with a friend who didn't feel reciprocal. This album was the soundtrack to that bittersweet year of angst and soul-searching but also the most fun I'd had in my adult life due to that post-lockdown upswing, going to festivals, holidays, nightclubs again and witnessing people smiling again, a huge relief.

I couldn't be in a calmer place these days by contrast

Listenign to this today it's not the Red Moons and Spud Infinities that are standing out to me, rather the ones I overlooked at the time. Love Love Love and The Only Place are really great. Always enjoyed Simulation Swarm, but boy it's raising the hairs on my neck. Even Wake Me Up To Drive (which I didn't really like) was doing it for me today

Anyway, I know the correct answer is Spud Infinity, but I've voted No Reason because I've just listened to the former waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too many times

you mean 2022, yes dog latin?

fitting that almost all the tracks have gotten a mention at this point, so i'll just round it out with 2 others that i love and seriously considered voting for, Time Escaping and 12,000 Lines. Former really made me sit up and take notice, latter is just a masterpiece of understatement, esp coming towards the end of the diversity of sounds on this record. i ultimately voted Change though, it feels like an instant standard, it'll probably be covered by a pop country singer in 5 years and be inescapable for 6 months

Norah Jones just released a cover

Thanks for making me listen to this album again. It’s been like a year since I last played it and its sounding brilliant this morning.

I particularly was underrating the “c side” of the album and it’s as good as the rest.

Aw I think that's my favourite side. B is the one I struggle with most

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

i think i forgot to vote. pretend there is one for blue lightning

Simulation Swarm really stood out on this revisit. Glad we polled it

Top looks good to me. Delightfully surprised by "No Reason" as high as it is.

It's their most unabashedly pretty song, so not much of a mystery there.
I'm conversely puzzled by the love for Little Things and Blurred View

imagine a song as good as "Time Escaping" not getting a single vote out of 31 cast.

this album is incredible. a few things i'd probably lop off given the chance, but man there are a lot of great songs here.

that said, i like "Spud Infinity" just fine but i don't get the love. i guess i thought everyone talking about in the album thread was being ironic or something.

I would have given sparrow a vote. No reason really the standout on this album though lets all be honest with ourselves

Just taking the excuse to post this again. She posted it on her IG about a year before the album came out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRReuyuyk9I

Thanks for posting, great version

I would have voted for “Change.” It’s a wonderful opening track, draws you right in.

I'm conversely puzzled by the love for Little Things and Blurred View

― ...eh you get the gist of it (dog latin)

Blurred View was the song that made the heaviest impression on me when I first listened to the album, I was not expecting a sad mantra-like Trip-hop song that sounds like it’s coming from an old, dusty speaker in an album more rooted in folk/indie rock. I can see why fans of their usual sound wouldn’t like it, it’s an outlier and it’s probably more of a mood piece compared to more structures songs on this album.

Structured*

It also feels very specifically to me as a wormhole to the sort of music I loved in my pre-teen years. For a while when I was like 14 my favorite song was “girl boy” by Blonde Redhead. And “blurred view” sort of shares the same DNA, in my ears at least.

I also like how it sounds like it’s a sampled loop but it’s also very clearly not. There’s all sort of things falling in and out of it. Gives it a very loose psychedelic vibe…

But I really get why it’s not for everyone. Or why some people would consider it a skippable song.

I’d be so down for an album of big thief doing more of this sort of spooky lo-fi atmospheric pieces and less of the hippie fiddles and jaw harps.

(I do like the hippie fiddles and jaw harps)

There is just so much to love and appreciate about this album.