Adrianne Lenker loves the concept of infinity; it’s appeared in her solo work and a few other Big Thief tracks like 2022’s massive-sized Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You‘s “Spud Infinity.” It’s a concept that she can use to play off big points in her life and wrap them up in matter-of-fact metaphors, while the band plays on, while guitarist Buck Meek plays his uncanny brand of indie rock guitar leads. It’s a concept where she can divulge her poetic verse over and over again. If you’ve been following Big Thief since the mid-2010s, infinity is really the theme that has followed the band and their music. Some of the songs nest in this realm of repetition, like “Happy With You,” from this latest album Double Infinity. Yup, infinity again.
Personally, I’ve listened to Big Thief off and on for about a decade. Lenker’s verses, that swindle through the common pitfalls and emotions of her life, have a way of sticking with you, and as a guitarist myself, I’ve never really found anyone else, contemporary, like Meek. Their past album Dragon New Warm … brought a newer Appalachian meets country folk vibe, and I loved it. There are some cool ideas and highlights on this latest one, but I’m not sure it will be one I revisit when I need a Big Thief kick. This album is defintiely a grower so it might take another few listens months from now for me to really fall in love with it. We’ll see.
But after four listens, Meek’s frenetic guitar solo on “Words” sticks out, especially with the interplay with an equally complex bass solo. Lenker’s omniscient film script verse on “Los Angeles” is another standout. She has a way of hooking into you, setting you in the place and time she wants, and the harmonies with Meek are sublime. “All Night All Day,” is a classic Big Thief track that could be found on an album like Capacity or even further back to “Masterpiece.” I wanted more from “No Fear,” which is like the chiller repetetive sister to the alt folk rock song “Not,” a personal fav of mine found on the album, Two Hands. “No Fear,” builds and builds, but there’s no real resolution.
One, maybe a cool idea at the time, that does not work for me is the weird new age vocals on “Grandmother (feat. Laraaji).” Laraaji sings backup, but it’s more like scatting, and the chorus is just too awkward for me, “Gonna turn it all / into rock n’ roll?” Nah. So as you can see, there are a few duds on Double Infinity, and as a whole, I’m kind of meh on it. Some good tracks from the indie bastion, but not hugely thrilling. For me.
