Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
4AD – Out Now
When did Big Thief become magical? Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You quite simply is the sound of a band that’s discovered the chemistry that turns four into one. Wherever they decide to go, they seem to unearth the connective tissue that transforms their songs. Over the course of 20 tunes (whittled down from 45), they weave a tapestry of sound that incorporates elements from so many different styles with an audaciousness that simply escapes most bands.
Recorded over a space of five months at four different record studios in the US, Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik, and James Krivchenia have crafted a set of tunes that, despite their stylistic differences, somehow manage to hang together and form an unusual and compelling collection. Some of the credit must go to Krivchenia, who sat in the producer’s chair, combining sounds from the four studios and turning them into a delightfully incoherently coherent whole. While that last sentence should make no sense, it does because what was the last album you heard that featured both flute and jaw’s harp solos?
While it would be simple to say that Lenker’s lyrics glues this collection together, it also wouldn’t be true. This is a band that is playing at a different level, experimenting with sound in ways that set them apart from almost everyone else. Opening the album, “Change” sets in motion a song that deals with wind, water, life and death. Yet when Lenker sings, “Could I feel happy for you/ When I hear you talk with her like we used to?/ Could I set everything free/ When I watch you holding her the way you once held me?” the realization that appears confirms the sadness of this relationship. It plays out musically in a way that is completely familiar, setting up the first of many left turns, “Time Escaping.” Shamanistic rhythmic ramblings push this song so far from the Big Thief furrow it’s stunning.
Following that up with the jaw harp jubilee of “Spud Infinity” suggests that Lenker and her companions are playing on a completely different level to that of other bands. Lenker’s brother Noah plays the jaw harp, but equally important is the fiddle that takes this song deeply into the territory of the barn dance, while lyrically, she sings of “accepting the alien you’ve rejected in your own heart.” Just three songs in, you get the notion that this is one trip where, while you won’t need to be strapped in, the only common ground is a band only limited by their imagination.
By the time you get to “No Reason”, you are simply stunned by the musicality on display. Meek’s guitar playing goes off in so many different directions with solos that incorporate everything from country riffs to noise merchant bravado. Yet the flute that shows up on “No Reason” makes you realize just how truly stunning these four musicians can be. Combine that with Lenker’s growing lyrical prowess, and the question becomes, is there anything that this band can’t do? At every turn, Big Thief exposes their willingness to experiment and create sounds that puts them in a category all their own. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is a stunning new collection that goes everywhere with the most impressive results.
Order Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You: https://bigthief.ffm.to/dnwmibiy