By Stan Cierlitsky
I can't believe it's been three years since Big Thief released the amazing Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. Big Thief have just released their new one, Double Infinity. I guess with all the solo output from the core members it doesn't seem like they’ve been away so long. Singer Adrianne Lenker released the great Bright Future in 2024, and Live at Revolution Hall earlier this year. Guitarist Buck Meek had the great Haunted Mountain in 2023, and even drummer James Krivchenia released a solo album (which I reviewed here) earlier this year called Performing Belief.
The band is all back together now, albeit without original bass player Max Oleartchik who left the band last year. It seems like Max was replaced with a fairly large ensemble of guest musicians, notably the legendary Laaraji and Mikel Patrick Avery, among others.
Double Infinity is a record that feels like it's reaching for new ground, while never really getting too far from their typical sound. The first single from the album, "Incomprehensible", is a good example of that. On its surface, it has all of the great Big Thief ingredients that one would expect: Adrianne's amazing voice and provocative lyrics; Buck's interesting guitar flourishes; and James' backbone beats. However, the subtleties in the production make this sound new to me. There are drones, and tape loops, and backing vocalists, and they definitely add new layers that Big Thief fans won't be familiar with. "Incomprehensible" is definitely my favorite off the album.
The new vibe continues all through the record. There definitely is a bit of a jam vibe on this this one. I hear a lot of similarities between songs, and many of the songs just don't carry the complex substance of past work. "Happy With You" is a good example of that. It's just a nice little song that's carried by an uplifting bass line, with Joshua Crumbley replacing Max for this record.
Other favorites from the record were also the advance singles. "Los Angeles" and "All Night All Day" are both really good. "Los Angeles" is a self-declared song of revival, while "All Night All Day" is a song of pleasure. Neither topic veers very far from Adrianne's typical canon.
Another interesting song on the album is "Grandmother", the first song that all three core members of Big Thief ever wrote together. It's also the only song that specifically states that Laraaji is featured. You can definitely hear his voice stand out on this one. It is kind of amazing that at the age of 82, Laraaji is still going strong. He adds to the Big Thief sound and contributes to making Double Infinity a record of complexity for the band.
Double Infinity by Big Thief is out now on 4AD.
[Photo: Genesis Baez]