The great thing about the first Big Thief albums was that they contained songs by a woman that went well beyond the mediocrity we call Americana – a genre that despite progressive poses often spills over into self-referential conservatism. Meanwhile, the band around Adrianne Lenker has its own niche.
Never trust first impressions
First impression while listening to “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You”: Too long, too much Americana mediocrity. Second Impression: Never trust the first impression! Hidden here are the most tender, philosophical songs like “Change”, transcendental ballads like “The Only Place” or exuberant songs somewhere between country and bluegrass like “Red Moon”, which is surrounded by fiddle bliss.
Magical pieces lurk everywhere in between. The quicksilver eighties sounds of “Time Escaping” and “Little Things”, the West Coast melancholy conjuring up “No Reason”, the twisted folk miniature “Heavy Bend” and the The Cure pastiche “Flower Of Blood” confirm Big Thief as the best band of their generation.
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