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December 3, 2024
Big Thief has brought a newfound remembrance of folk to the generation, as well as combining it with rock and indie genres. The lead singer, Adrianne Lenker formed the band with Buck Meek after making music together under her artist name, producing the band as a way to produce a different sound. The band as a whole has five studio albums: “Masterpiece” (2016), “Capacity” (2017), “U.F.O.F” (2019), “Two Hands” (2019), and most recently, “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You” (2022). All of the albums share the same values of tenderness and rawness of lyrics that shine through their songs, but only three out of five make the cut of being truly perfect.
Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek (Photo Credit: Alexa Viscius)
Masterpiece Album cover (Photo Credit: Adrianne Lenker’s mother)
“Masterpiece” (2016)
Thief’s debut album, “Masterpiece,” feels like opening a story book of sorts. Listening through this album feels like a familiar nostalgia showing through some of the songs named after people on the album, such as, “Randy,” “Lorriane,” and “Paul.” In an interview with NPR radio in 2016, Lenker said, “Sometimes I need a name for themes in my songs, but oftentimes they're just about me or directed to myself.” “Paul” is a fan favorite on the album. The song shows themes of constantly being in this push and pull, very inconsistent love. This is represented through the lyrics, “I’ll be your morning bright goodnight shadow machine,” later contrasting with, “I’ll be the killer and the thriller and the cause of our death.” The album makes you feel like you were there to witness all that’s being sung about, like the opening of an old tape recorder that you feel like is too personal to listen to. A song that stands out the most on this album is, “Masterpiece,” the title track of the album. The song explores the depths of attempting to let go of someone you were once very close to, but keeping the memory of the time you had together. Masterpiece is very similar to another song on the album, “Real Love.” Similar to Masterpiece, Real Love has this build up of at first being loving, almost forgiving; but as you keep listening it gets more and more intense, like you’re feeding off of this clash between the two.
Near the end of the album, Thief introduces, “Velvet Ring.” “Velvet Ring” brings in acoustics that the album hasn’t seen yet, with a sweet finger picking of the guitar. The lyrics on Velvet Ring go along with the theme of story telling, feeling like a warm hug. The song goes along with the ups and downs of emotional abuse, seeing how the songs on this album can go from lyrics like, “Love is a gentle thing,” with soft strumming of guitar in the back to, “A victim here with a sharp sharp blade.” With all the characters it portrays in the songs, and Lenker’s story telling, it’s almost impossible to stop listening to.
Capacity (2017)
Thief’s sophomore album, “Capacity,” houses a similar, less rock sound similar to their previous album, “Masterpiece.” The album sticks to that desire for care and love shown through the lyrics of the songs. A song that sticks out most is, “Pretty Things,” with lyrics that make hearts drop. The song encapsulates the feeling in a relationship where you will do anything to keep your partner, even if it’s not pretty. The lyrics in the song, “Don’t take me for a fool, there's a woman inside of me, there's one inside of you too, and she doesn't always do pretty things,” describe how people are capable of rawness and sweetness, all we have to do is let it out. Another song that stands out is “Haley.” This song brings out the light in all the darkness, as well as following Lenker’s song-writing theme of naming songs with people's names. “Haley” recollects that feeling of the memories you’ve had with someone. Although it might’ve ended or things have moved on, “You know my arms are always open.” The album captures feelings of yearning and acceptance, even if the memories have trouble leaving your mind.
Capacity Album cover (Photo Credit: Adrianne Lenker’s mother)
Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (Artist: N/A)
Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (2022)
Thief’s most recent album, “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You,” strings along that folky aspect that has stayed throughout their other albums, but making itself more prevalent now. This album in some ways has the most drastic shift from Thief’s earlier albums with songs like “Red Moon” and “Certainty,” but stays local to the nostalgic feeling with, “Promise is a Pendulum,” and “Simulation Swarm.” This album has to be the most comforting album ever, with the song, “Promise is a Pendulum” bringing in that sense of having to sometimes leave things unsaid, with lyrics, “I could never tell you now what I had often said before, because promise is a pendulum just swinging at the door, and I’m not saying I’m not jealous or scared anymore, I’m just saying.” “Red moon” is so incredibly fun and jumpy while pondering back to nostalgic feeling, with lyrics representing that eternal wonder that the band captures, “What do you yearn for? Where do you long to be?” Lenker’s vocals alongside her lyricism and her band's instrumentals is truly hard to turn off.
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