Ignored Obscured Restored
I read some very favorable reviews of the fourth album (and second released in 2019) – Two Hands – by the Brooklyn based band, Big Thief, so I decided to give it a listen. Singer Adrianne Lenker’s breathy vocals are very pretty, but after several cuts, nothing was really grabbing me.
Then the seventh song, “Not,” came on and I was hooked. And it is worthy to be featured as the SotW.
Instead of the “indie-Americana” (I just made that up) that describes most of Big Thief’s material, this track veers off into a cacophony of grungy guitar distortion – and I mean that in the best way. Neil Young would approve!
The “negativity” of the lyrics is complemented and reinforced by the noisy accompaniment.
It’s not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning
Not the planet
That’s spinning
Not a ruse
Not heat
Not the fire lapping up the creek
Not food
That you eat
Keep an eye on Big Thief.
Enjoy… until next week.
Do they rock? No. But that isn’t a question anymore (now that rocking solos and drum breaks are muzak at Chipotle.