BIG THIEF’S BIG YEAR
Their Two Stunning Albums from 2019
The Brooklyn-based indie rock group Big Thief has been floating above the alternative music on a cloud of comfortable guitar riffs and thoughtful lyrics since its debut album dropped in 2016. The group was immediately celebrated, turning the heads of music’s most notorious critics. After establishing themselves as a leader in their genre, 2019 proved to be the group’s most prolific year, bringing the release of not one, but two albums.
Big Thief’s first record of the year, U.F.O.F., was released in early May. It was immediately praised, climbing the Billboard charts for alternative, Americana, and rock music. Just six months after its release, Pitchfork included it in its list of the 200 Best Albums of the 2010s. It cuts to the heart of the band’s folk roots, with songs like “Cattails” taking us back in time to summer days and a carefree time we never knew.
The second, released just last month, includes 10 more tracks of frontwoman Adrianne Lanker’s soothing croon. Two Hands is cozy music, like the kind you associate with your favorite local coffee shop, but it’s anything but background music. Despite its relaxed nature, each track demands your attention with its cool instrumentation and emotional lyrics. The title track “Two Hands” is a clear highlight, with twinkly guitar adding some sparkle to a song that’s lyrically very raw and intimate. “Not” shows the other end of Big Thief’s wide spectrum of capabilities, with a grittier rock sound and a collection lengthy solos that clocks in at just over six mintues long.
No matter the song, each of Big Thief’s creations are obviously a carefully cultivated final product. Through each of the two albums the group released this year, there is never a moment where a song feels rushed or forced. The group’s craft simply gave way to a strikingly productive year, blessing us with 22 beautiful new tracks.
