Big Thief by Michael Buisha
Big Thief announce their third album on 4AD, Getintothis’ Luke Halls has the details on their new track.
Releasing an album almost every year is by no means an easy feat for any artist. Songwriting, recording and experimentation thrown together with a hectic touring schedule can either leave you gasping for air or completely at your wit’s end.
For Brooklyn’s Big Thief, however, energy is self-generated in overabundance. Since forming in 2015, the alt-folk band has gone on to tour internationally and release new music at an inconceivably steady rate.
2019 marks the beginning of a new chapter for the group. Following the release of 2016’s Masterpiece and 2017’s Capacity on Nebraskan label Saddle Creek, Big Thief are back in the game with album number three U.F.O.F., published by British indie label 4AD.
Recorded at Bear Creek Studios in rural Washington in 2018, much of the album had been road-tested prior to entering the studio. This isn’t to say that creativity was curtailed during session time; further tracks were actually written from start to finish only a few hours prior to recording.
Talking U.F.O.F. (the final ‘F’ supposedly stands for Friend), vocalist and guitarist Adrianne Lenker reveals the new album deals with finding a closeness with the mysterious.
“Making friends with the unknown… All my songs are about this. If the nature of life is change and impermanence, I’d rather be uncomfortably awake in that truth than lost in denial.”
Celebrating the record’s announcement, the band has also shared its first single, UFOF. Trademark Big Thief acoustic guitars are gently sprinkled over lyrics dealing with the disappearance of an alien/past love that is never to return.
With the new release under their belt, Big Thief will bring the U.F.O.F. live experience across the UK, US and Europe on a heavy-hitting 2019 tour, spanning from April to November.
Best music photos from February: Frank Carter, Seamonsters, John Grant, Queen Zee
Kicking off in San Diego in April, Big Thief will later meander across the UK in May. The band will cover all bases with dates booked in Leeds, Glasgow, Dublin, Manchester, Bristol, Cambridge and a highlight date at London’s Roundhouse.
During the American and Canadian partition of the world tour, the group will be partnering with Plus1 to donate $1 per ticket sold to a host of charities including SAEF, Little Kids Rock, Youth Speaks, DANS LA RUE Homeless Youth Day Centre, Sketch and Overly Creative Minds Program from the Urban Native Youth Association.
UK tour dates
18 May – LEEDS, GB, Brudenell Social Club **SOLD OUT**
19 May – GLASGOW, SWG3
21 May – DUBLIN, Vicar Street
22 May – MANCHESTER, The Ritz
23 May – LONDON, Roundhouse
24 May – BRISTOL, SWX
26 May – CAMBRIDGE, Cambridge Junction
UPDATE: Big Thief share Cattails, the second new song off their forthcoming album U.F.O.F. (out May 3) – listen to it below.
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