Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain
4AD
DNWM offers an extensive insight into the soul of Big Thief. It’s the band’s fifth album, featuring 20 songs, five of which have been released as singles.
The album’s aesthetic is divided into four sections, mirroring the quadratic sessions the band split its recording into. Big Thief delve into multiple genres in DNWM, from folk driven tracks like ‘Certainty’ and ‘Red moon’ to the more cinematic sounding ‘Blurred view’.
It is also the first Big Thief album produced by a member of the band (James Krivchenia), adding to its feel of authenticity.
Opening track and single ‘Change’ immediately submerges the reader into a spiritual realm. The brushed guitar coupled with lead singer Adrienne’s ethereal vocals makes for a beautiful introduction. The lyrics invite us to question our own mortality and encourage us to find beauty in life’s fleetingness: ‘Would you live forever never die // While everything around passes?’; ‘Would you walk forever in the light // To never learn the secret of the quiet night?.’
The album is laced with natural imagery, making its tone earthy and grounded. Each track has a specific soundscape which pairs with the songwriting to capture the wildness of love and human nature. The lyric ‘crooked as a grow gnawing on dawn’ from ‘Certainty’ is a standout. Its stripped-back, folk-feel, and harmonised vocals submerge you fully.
Speaking to Zach Burba, lead singer Adrienne described how it felt to be back as a band after lockdown: “One of the things that bonds us together as a band is pure magic. I think we all have the same guide and none of us have ever spoken what it is because … none of us [are] able to articulate in words what the 'it' is. Something about it is magic to me.”
‘Little things’ is the lengthiest track on the album, at 5.45 minutes. With confessional lyrics like ‘Maybe I’m a little obsessed//Maybe you do use me”, it encapsulates the fierce attachment that can form around a partner, leaving you blind to being undervalued and used. Dissonance laces the instrumentals, leaving the track feeling a little messy and unfinished. Perhaps, though, this is an intentional decision to convey the artists’ state of mind at the time.
The end of the album feels weaker than the start; the last few tracks being a little repetitive. The lyrics never lose their poetic feel, however I can’t help but think they would have more impact being on a shorter LP.
Big Thief are set to tour in the UK from January-March 2022.
8/10
