Big Thief
Formed: 2015
Location: New York, New York, USA
Genre: Indie Rock, Folk
Years Active: 2016 -
Meaning of the Name: Big Thief refers to stealing from the well of collective consciousness.
Core Members: Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, James Krivchenia
Way of Working: Collaborative
Essential Releases
Masterpiece (2016)
Intimate debut.
Capacity (2017)
Transitioned into folk rock.
Two Hands (2019)
Bittersweet poetry.
Dragon New Warm
Mountain... (2022)
Double album.
Big Thief was born out of the love shared between band members Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek. They were husband and wife. Both cherished the group because it was equally theirs; and as their love grew, so did the band, expanding to four people before they started to release music.
The band was their baby, and became more precious as time went on, as they never produced a real one of their own. As a passion project, the group's work is deeply heartfelt and revealing. Songs such as 'Mary' or 'Paul' even refer to their subjects on a first-name basis, and are about real people.
Lenker's lyrics are deeply personal, intimate even, but still detached enough from the everyday to be abstract, as if they're feelings instead of thoughts, poetry instead of prose, or ideas instead of reality. They're coming from the intuitive part of her experience instead of the rational and, as such, are open to interpretation; and Big Thief fans like few things better than debating the "true" meanings of her songs.
The Romantics took the same approach when faced with the cold, harsh empiricism of the Enlightenment. Music resonates with the soul. How can you speak to the soul in a world where reason is king? When everything is counted, measured, and stripped down to its constituent parts, where is the room for imagination or mystery or romance or any of the other many unquantifiable things that make life worth living?
In 'Simulation Swarm', for example, Lenker sings "winged creatures" when she could have said "angels" and "tall as a pale green tree" when she could have simply said "tall". Using easy-to-understand, direct language gives songs an immediacy lacking here, but what Big Thief's music has instead is a depth of pure emotion that listeners can relate to and spend time with.
Lenker has said she doesn't feel in control of her songwriting. She told Exclaim! Magazine "It feels like a collaboration with the universe or a higher power. It doesn't feel like it's just originating from my brain. It feels like I'm following an invisible thread of intuition..."
While some might read the previous quote and divine a higher power at work, to me, it reads as if Lenker shares a rich connection with her subconscious that she works out on the page. Only time will tell.
Skills
*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.Emotional Impact
95
Mental Impact
90
Originality
45
Artistry
70
Authenticity
100
Live
90
Production
65
Musicianship
80
Singing
70
Songwriting
90
Danceability
30
Fun
25
Consistency
85
Range
60
Cool
70
Charisma
40
Commercial & Critical Success
Awards >>>
- Grammy Award Nominee: U.F.O.F - Best Alternative Album
- Grammy Award Nominee: Not - Best Rock Song
- Grammy Award Nominee: Not - Best Rock Peformance
- Grammy Award Nominee: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You - Best Alternative Album
- Grammy Award Nominee: Certainty - Best Alternative Music Performance
Certifications
Charts
Critics >>>
- Flood: Capacity - Best Albums of 2017 : #1
- NPR: Capacity - Best Albums of 2017 : #3
- NPR: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You - Best Albums of 2022: #4
- Paste: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You - Best Albums of 2022: #1
- Spin: Capacity - Best Albums of 2017 : #2
- The Atlantic: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You - Best Albums of 2022: #2
CRITICISM
- Pomposity. Big Thief have a grandiose sense of their own importance. What type of people name their first album 'Masterpiece'?
