Review by Stan Cierlitsky
This is clearly the year of Big Thief. They deliver their second masterpiece -- no pun intended given that their debut album was titled Masterpiece -- on the esteemed 4AD label. This new one is called Two Hands and it follows U.F.O.F., which was released earlier this year to critical acclaim. Before I start, I want to give all the credit to Aaron Dessner of The National for getting me into this band. A couple of years ago, he heaped so much praise on this band that I felt like I just had to give them a lsten. I was instantly hooked after hearing the song "Mythological Beauty" from their 2017 album, Capacity.
Two Hands is made up of 10 songs, and even though it was produced by the same folks that did U.F.O.F. (Dom Monks and Andrew Sarlo), it sounds a lot different. This album is, according to the band's press materials, "about the Earth and the bones beneath it." It was also recorded live, with almost no overdubs, and 8 of the 10 tracks here feature entirely live vocal-takes. For fans of their work, that factor will seem like the obvious difference on this Big Thief album. The first single off this LP is called "Not" and it demonstrates that "live feel" perfectly.
Hearing the cracks in Adrianne Lenker’s vocal performance is chilling. Hearing Buck Meeks' "unhinged" guitar feels amazing. I actually teased my friend since he prefers the edited version. I asked, "How could you possibly want less of this song?" It is Big Thief at their rawest, and finest (in my opinion). And Two Hands has a lot of those moments.
By the way, fans of Big Thief will quickly notice that some of these compositions sound familiar. That's simply because many of the songs on Two Hands have been live staples for a while. Half of the tracks ("Not", "The Toy", "Shoulders", "Those Girls" and "Cut My Hair") have been showing up on set lists since 2017.
The album starts starkly with "Rock and Sing". "I am that naked thing swimming in air. Why does that mean anything? Why do you stare?" For me, I stare because even though I have been devouring music for almost 50 years, I feel like I have never heard a band like this before. Even when they deliver such simple songs like this, I am always mesmerized.
Another favorite off the album is "Forgotten Eyes", which is pretty much a steady rocker. Even on first listen, this sounds like a classic Big Thief song. "Forgotten tongue is the language of love," go the lyrics. As much as I have loved Adrianne’s gentle, precise voice -- check out her terrific solo album, abysskiss -- what I really enjoy most about Two Hands is the unleashing of Buck Meek and the boys. The band no longer sounds delicate; they now sound deliberate. Which is not to say that all the selections here are rockers, because they aren't. I won't spend much time talking here about Buck Meek's incredible origin story, but you should check it out (and also check out his superb self-titled solo album). My wife loves following him on Instagram. He has a talent for capturing interesting "ordinary" people in a way that doesn't feel ordinary. He does the same thing with his guitar. These sounds are far from ordinary.
Weirdly, the title track of this live and raw effort actually sounds the most produced. The cut has playful sounds interspersed between interesting percussion elements and bits of plucky guitar. I don't think this song is out of place here, but it might have fit better on U.F.O.F. By the way, I find it really interesting listening to this band as a reviewer. Trying to fully understand the depth and poetry of Adrianne's lyrics just makes me feel stupid. Someone else will have to break down the song meanings for all of you.
With that being said, many of her lyrics -- even to a dummy like me -- are just jaw-dropping. On "Shoulders", she wails, "The blood of the man who's killing our mother with his hands is in me, it’s in me, in my veins." Shit! I don't have any words to describe that. So powerful.
The album does end with three slower songs which are very beautiful in their simplicity. The imagery Lenker paints on "Wolf" is pretty vivid. And I love the vocal interplay between the vocals and guitar on "Replaced". I'm not sure why, but this song reminds me a little of the more bare-bones Rilo Kiley tracks. The final track, "Cut My Hair", has one of my favorite lines from the album: “We do-si-do, swaying in the kitchen, rocking slowly."
I can't sum up this album any better than Adrianne herself in the press material:
"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."
I also want to point out that Big Thief will be at 9:30 Club on November 10. It's been sold out a while, so if you wanna go, I'm sure you'll have to pay scalper prices. This will be my first time seeing them live, and I am so excited.
Two Hands is out today via 4AD
More details on Big Thief via the band's official Facebook page, or the band's official website.
[Photo: Michael Buishas]