not isn't on this
― diamonddave85 (diamonddave85), Friday, 3 May 2019 20:02 (five years ago) link
I love this record. The only real dud for me is the baffling rework of From. And I think Cattails doesn’t totally fit and could maybe have been a single instead.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Saturday, 4 May 2019 01:32 (five years ago) link
no the “from” arrangement is AMAZING
― american bradass (BradNelson), Saturday, 4 May 2019 01:43 (five years ago) link
I also could do without their weird penchant for lo budget sound fx. There’s one that sounds like someone drinking the very end of a slurped.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Saturday, 4 May 2019 02:09 (five years ago) link
*slurpee
oh man "Strange"
― ufo, Saturday, 4 May 2019 06:31 (five years ago) link
Posted to wrong thread: Wow, the new album is extremely wonderful. But also quite difficult to listen to without crying.
'From' is incredible and her vocal performance on it is so bizarre. And is that a fire crackling in the background?
― alrakis morissette (tangenttangent), Saturday, 4 May 2019 13:24 (five years ago) link
First impression: melodied are weaker: too basic and repetitive within the song. Not my cup of tea. Loved Capacity though.
― nostormo, Saturday, 4 May 2019 14:53 (five years ago) link
capacity did nothing for me but this was really immediate for me and i love it. i'm completely enamoured by that part in "strange" with the sustained "ahh" and the ascending bass line.
weirdly "from" really reminds me of late-period radiohead?
― ufo, Sunday, 5 May 2019 13:25 (four years ago) link
also really love the way "jenni" is so immense after most of the album is so quiet
― ufo, Sunday, 5 May 2019 13:31 (four years ago) link
also occurred to me re new from, quite in rainbows-y
― Roberto Spiralli, Sunday, 5 May 2019 13:48 (four years ago) link
I think it's a less immediate, less song and voice-driven record than the first two were, and part of me wishes that weren't the case, but at the same time, it's a very beautiful record with a wonderful sound.
I guess when I saw her live the new material did have that immediacy, and I feel like somehow that got a bit lost in the production of both this and the solo record. The moment I think it gets closest to that prior immediacy is on Orange.
I mean the way she does From here, for example, just connects with me much more than either recorded versionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QckxTQQ9XBo&t=364s . Somehow Luke Temple's production makes her voice sound too small and cute, although I do like the abysskiss version a good deal.
The song that connects with me most directly is Terminal Paradise, which I think benefits a lot from the full band arrangement. Others, like UFOF and Strange are a bit more obscured, though really good.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Monday, 6 May 2019 02:35 (four years ago) link
And anyway, at the other end of the spectrum, songs like Paul and Real Love sometimes felt a bit too heavy handed to me, so overall I like the direction she's going in.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Monday, 6 May 2019 02:36 (four years ago) link
i've liked big thief and am excited to check this out but o_O this new pitchfork review has some lines
"Adrianne Lenker, the singer and oxygen of the Brooklyn quartet, whose lyrics can, among other things, bind all that is living and has ever lived together at the cellular level. "
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 6 May 2019 14:05 (four years ago) link
Ha! I read it too. It's goofy to put it mildly.
― kornrulez6969, Monday, 6 May 2019 14:30 (four years ago) link
Being able to bind all that is living and has ever lived together at the cellular level is what it takes to get a 9+ BNM score on Pitchfork in 2019. The only people meet that criteria this year are them and Beyonce.
― MarkoP, Monday, 6 May 2019 14:35 (four years ago) link
yeesh, I love her too but
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Monday, 6 May 2019 15:23 (four years ago) link
If you listen to the album and then read the review, it all kinda makes sense if a bit overblown. I do think the strength of Big Thief is that they seem plain and familiar on first blush but somehow pull you into a deep and strange world where the songs they created are the only things that exists.
But if I’d read that review prior to hearing a note of Big Thief, I’d be expecting something different—like, Charalambides or something.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Monday, 6 May 2019 15:47 (four years ago) link
that reads like the writer mixed up their Big Thief review with their "reconsidering midichlorians" piece on a Star Wars site.
― omar little, Monday, 6 May 2019 16:13 (four years ago) link
I'm interested in the among other things, like can I bring my plants back to life with her lyrics? jk I love this record and I like this review too
― flamboyant goon tie included, Monday, 6 May 2019 16:32 (four years ago) link
I like parts of the review by but it's got a little too much dip on the proverbial chip
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 6 May 2019 16:37 (four years ago) link
I've listened to this album twice and so far it seems a bit weightless and slight. The great thing about Capacity was its contrast of delicacy with hugely muscular moments. Each song had a very memorable 'bit' in it that was delivered with surprising immediacy whereas on this album it feels like they're tiptoeing around, trying hard not to be blunt.
― frame casual (dog latin), Tuesday, 7 May 2019 15:24 (four years ago) link
This is resonating more for me than Capacity, though it is a very insular record.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Tuesday, 7 May 2019 17:17 (four years ago) link
I'm listening now - this is sounding fabulous. Opening two tracks especially
― imago, Tuesday, 7 May 2019 17:41 (four years ago) link
totally fucking obsessed with this record
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, 8 May 2019 01:04 (four years ago) link
i could go on and on about any song but "strange" has that gorgeous sunlit coda and "jenni" is this huge swallowing mouth of doom
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, 8 May 2019 01:43 (four years ago) link
“Century” has burrowed into my brain.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Wednesday, 8 May 2019 02:05 (four years ago) link
you have wings of goldyou will never grow old
― ufo, Wednesday, 8 May 2019 02:31 (four years ago) link
Entrancing album. It takes me places that feel eerily familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it, like a déjà-vu. It's tender like an embrace.
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 8 May 2019 09:52 (four years ago) link
i have never heard of this band before. their slow, calm, harmonical music is like a warm blanket i can wrap myself in. which works quite well right now as the temperatures outside in berlin are still quite low. the singer's voice who occasionally is quite mickey mousey (joanna newsom anyone?) bothers me sometimes but i kind of have gotten over to it. somehow their music to me sounds like coming straight from a huge dark forest full of elves and dwarfs. my fave is the first song "contact". i found it a bit hard to listen to the whole album in one go. maybe they should have gotten rid of a couple of songs in the second half. my attention span these days is not what it used to be. it must be due to the reign of the smartphone and stuff. concentration and patience have become a real challenge!
― je est un autre, l'enfer c'est les autres (alex in mainhattan), Wednesday, 8 May 2019 19:41 (four years ago) link
you should listen to their last album, too!! its also a blanket.
― be the 2 chainz you want 2 see in the world (m bison), Thursday, 9 May 2019 00:42 (four years ago) link
this album is beautiful
― Dan S, Friday, 10 May 2019 01:47 (four years ago) link
thinking there isn't anything I will love more than this for a while at least
― Dan S, Friday, 10 May 2019 01:57 (four years ago) link
another beautiful album by this band, but it isn't hitting me as hard as Capacity yet. prob just need to let it sink in a bit more. love the production though, particularly the way the drums sound on songs like the title track.
― i think ur a controp (voodoo chili), Friday, 10 May 2019 14:16 (four years ago) link
This is really amazing
Evokes a sort of jazzy, gauzy quality that I love about Hejira by Joni without really sounding derivative of that at all
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 10 May 2019 14:22 (four years ago) link
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, 10 May 2019 14:24 (four years ago) link
listening again and i think the second half is what makes it special. love how 'strange' uses a blues shuffle beat and still manages to remain so delicate, and how adrienne sounds like a totally different person on 'betsy.' and 'terminal paradise' and 'jenni' are just devastating.
― i think ur a controp (voodoo chili), Friday, 10 May 2019 14:34 (four years ago) link
The great thing about Capacity was its contrast of delicacy with hugely muscular moments.
i mean, there's that big moment near the end of 'contact,' but yeah, maybe that's one thing i miss on this record.
― i think ur a controp (voodoo chili), Friday, 10 May 2019 14:35 (four years ago) link
― je est un autre, l'enfer c'est les autres (alex in mainhattan), Friday, 10 May 2019 19:20 (four years ago) link
― i think ur a controp (voodoo chili), Friday, May 10, 2019 9:35 AM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I also wish there were some harder-hitting vocals/songs of the sort the first two albums had. She definitely goes more toward the delicate on this one.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Friday, 10 May 2019 19:30 (four years ago) link
how adrienne sounds like a totally different person on ‘betsy’
― computerleg, Friday, 10 May 2019 20:11 (four years ago) link
The wispy vocals help emphasize that weird quality they're riding so well here. It's like they exist in their own hermetically sealed universe. Going back to the older albums, they almost sound too normal to me.
Also, the arrangements are all immaculate. I'm enjoying this a lot.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 11 May 2019 01:11 (four years ago) link
their slow, calm, harmonical music is like a warm blanket i can wrap myself in.
This is a great description of the quality I most prize in any music.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 11 May 2019 01:13 (four years ago) link
xp
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Friday, May 10, 2019 12:30 PM (five hours ago)
but the atmosphere of it is so amazing, better than anything they have achieved previously
― Dan S, Saturday, 11 May 2019 01:17 (four years ago) link
I listened to all 3 albums in a row the other day & I really enjoyed how small and intimate this one sounded. Masterpiece, my first fave, sounds a bit too brash & widescreen when sandwiched between Capacity and UFOF. I’m really digging this one, with particular props to the Paranoid Android guitars on the title track.
― Una Palooka Dronka (hardcore dilettante), Saturday, 11 May 2019 04:50 (four years ago) link
listened another time w the hejira comparison in mind and it opened up the album enough for me that it's now my fav big thief i think? ums helpfully otm
― lowercase (eric), Saturday, 11 May 2019 12:44 (four years ago) link
I'm thinking this along with the new Lambchop will be my two most regulars listens this year. i love it. hoping the new Bill Callahan will be great to join them soon.
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 11:34 (four years ago) link
I love this record. I wish I found the lyrics more rewarding but that's my only criticism really
― flamboyant goon tie included, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 13:50 (four years ago) link
I'm definitely having a harder time accessing them than with the past albums. Really any criticism I have is in the context of this still being almost certainly one of the best records of the year.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 14:16 (four years ago) link
yeah, "not as special as Capacity" is true of 99.9999% of all records.
― i think ur a controp (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 14:17 (four years ago) link
High on the list of U.F.O.F.'s numerous virtues is the brief, economical, gorgeous guitar solo that closes out "Century."
― dad genes (morrisp), Tuesday, 28 January 2020 23:27 (four years ago) link
hey, that's my favorite moment on the whole album
― culture of mayordom (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 28 January 2020 23:34 (four years ago) link
i do not get the rapturous praise from this band, which apparently comes from all quarters
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 5 February 2020 21:46 (four years ago) link
uh FOR this band
I meant to say
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 5 February 2020 21:49 (four years ago) link
It's okay -- I was with you until September.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 21:51 (four years ago) link
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...
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:00 (four years ago) link
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.
― toilet-cleaning brain surgeon (pomenitul), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:02 (four years ago) link
Shakey, when have I liked bands based on terrible hair
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:03 (four years ago) link
the songwriting isn't as pedestrian as most of their peers'
Understatement of the century, lol. The songwriting is astounding.
― dad genes (morrisp), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:04 (four years ago) link
BT singer also has serious guitar chops
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:05 (four years ago) link
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
― frederik b. godt (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:05 (four years ago) link
lol Alfred
xps
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:05 (four years ago) link
Tbf they only look douchey on 85% of the pics I've seen.
― toilet-cleaning brain surgeon (pomenitul), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:07 (four years ago) link
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
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:08 (four years ago) link
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.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:09 (four years ago) link
musicians with bad fashion and appalling haircuts, you hate to see it
― omar little, Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:11 (four years ago) link
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?
― toilet-cleaning brain surgeon (pomenitul), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:12 (four years ago) link
he's just back from building a barn in east PA
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:14 (four years ago) link
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!
― dad genes (morrisp), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:25 (four years ago) link
I will concede that Adrianne's voice may be an "acquired taste" (as I'm reminded when my wife gives me a "What the f are you listening to?" look) -- but I completely forget about that, or no longer hear it, when I'm absorbed in their music.
― dad genes (morrisp), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:28 (four years ago) link
lol the first time I put it on my wife was instinctively irritated by Lenker's voice as well and she's generally more lenient in indie rock-related matters than I am.
― toilet-cleaning brain surgeon (pomenitul), Wednesday, 5 February 2020 22:30 (four years ago) link
The voice is the strongest element imo; striking and distinctive. The instrumental music is fine but not usually mind-blowing imo so it all depends on the songs. A few really grab me, the rest I don't mind and may continue to grow on me.
― With considerable charm, you still have made a choice (Sund4r), Thursday, 6 February 2020 05:26 (four years ago) link
High on the list of U.F.O.F.'s numerous virtues is the brief, economical, gorgeous guitar solo that closes out "Century."― dad genes (morrisp), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 6:27 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink
― dad genes (morrisp), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 6:27 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink
like the album but that solo on "jenny" reminds me of successfully tackling the guitar solo of "go your own way" on rock band 2.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Thursday, 6 February 2020 05:59 (four years ago) link
Haha, I love a good one-note gtr solo
― dad genes (morrisp), Thursday, 6 February 2020 21:15 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C_ax0XYn1E
fantastic footage of one of the new songs they were playing on tour
― ufo, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 01:27 (three years ago) link
Sounds really nice. Are those fancy new custom guitars of some sort?
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 02:31 (three years ago) link
they both play collings iirc. high-end maker out of austin.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 02:33 (three years ago) link
^when ur Casio DG-1 is in the shop
Anyway, that song -- OMG! I'm instantly obsessed. What does it remind me of(??) Some specific early-'90s hippie/granola rock touchpoint...?
― Inadequate grass (morrisp), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 03:08 (three years ago) link
Here's another good recording (different show):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bir8m4Q0yDk
― Inadequate grass (morrisp), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 03:11 (three years ago) link
holy shit, I can't believe this song... it's like the best thing you ever heard a cool older kid playing on a summer-camp mixtape when you're 12 years old
― Inadequate grass (morrisp), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 03:15 (three years ago) link
The only songs it specifically brings to mind, sound/vibe–wise, are Rush's "Time Stand Still" and Collective Soul's "December"... silly/inapt reference points as these may be.
― Inadequate grass (morrisp), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 03:32 (three years ago) link
It also has sort of a peak-R.E.M. feel (though not necessarily “sound”). I can absolutely picture this song, appearing on a fuzzy live tape of an unsigned band, causing a total A&R frenzy circa 1991.
― Inadequate grass (morrisp), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 05:33 (three years ago) link
that rhythm section needs a podcast or a sitcom or something
― alpine static, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 06:10 (three years ago) link
Ha, I'd listen to that.
It does sound like a song I've known most of my life, something to fall back on. It's reassuringly life-affirming.
― Hey, let me drunkenly animate yr boats in about 25 to 60 days! (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 09:35 (three years ago) link
XX post. re the guitars - they've been playing those two Collings guitars almost exclusively for a few years now. Maybe some kind of endorsement. Otherwise you're talking five grand each.
― Duke, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 10:49 (three years ago) link
that's a great song (& nice sounding guitars), i'd love to see them live, they seem to be a band better in concert than in the studio...
― walking towards the sun since 2007 (alex in mainhattan), Monday, 25 May 2020 14:59 (three years ago) link
this band fucking rules
― treeship., Friday, 14 August 2020 03:16 (three years ago) link
i don't have that much more to say. i was listening to fordham radio and heard a live version of 'masterpiece.' it just ripped
― treeship., Friday, 14 August 2020 03:19 (three years ago) link