Back in 2018, we reviewed abysskiss, the second LP from Adrianne Lenker. Our reviewer, William Owen concluded “The album never looks to build to a particular point, instead, carrying you softly through Lenker’s world before fading back into humdrum reality…as the LP fades to its end, …you’re left returning to your own autumnal world, briefly charmed by Lenker’s clarity of melancholy.”
Listening to it now it’s difficult to match up this solo offering with that of Big Thief, a bigger sound which finds Lenker centre-front delivering albums that cause more than a few ripples. Their last offering UFOF managed to cast its spell far and wide and also highlighted the fact that Lenker appears to be riding something of a creative wave.
“A true masterpiece of folk music from a band working together at the highest level.” Pitchfork (9.2, Best New Music)
“The impact is so quiet you might miss it, but it’s revelatory enough that you can’t escape it.” Rolling Stone ****
“U.F.O.F. doesn’t feel crafted, it feels invoked from the spaces between the four hearts involved.” The Wire
“Full of subtle charm, it’s an album of deceptive depths in which to immerse yourself.” The Observer ****
“There’s a mystical bind to U.F.O.F. that grips the listener and never lets go.” Uncut (9/10)
Today, Big Thief have announced their second album of 2019, Two Hands, set for release on 11th October on 4AD. The immediate response from most is “WTF?”, seeing as U.F.O.F. only dropped in May this year – talk about a creative roll! With the amazement over, a listen to their first single ‘Not’ suggests we’re in for more visceral pleasures.
Described as the “earth twin” to U.F.O.F., Big Thief started work on Two Hands just days after finishing their third album. Speaking about Two Hands Adrianne Lenker says: “Two Hands has the songs that I’m the most proud of; I can imagine myself singing them when I’m old. Musically and lyrically, you can’t break it down much further than this. It’s already bare-bones.”
The band have also announced a special intimate show at Bush Hall in London, next Monday (19th). They will then return to the UK in February, with dates in London, Nottingham, Manchester and Glasgow.