Big Thief tread water on the glitzy return of Double Infinity

The right-honorable Lenker has fronted legendary indie-folk act Big Thief for a decade now, and has littered their release schedule with devastating, wondrous solo releases. I can look to her like previous generations did Joni & Dylan – a prophet and a herald for changing times.

After releasing the magnum opus that was Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You in 2022, a 20-track expanse of folk, psychedelia, and natural wonder, Big Thief instead find themselves back where they were around 2016: pretty okay, lovingly serviceable. They’ve abandoned the static and patched-together quality of their previous record for a high-fidelity, concise folk pop record. It’s Big Thief like no one could have imagined them: wearingly close to midlife, jam band territory.

According to the band, the initial intent for the record was to dig into their heavier side, no doubt projecting the majesty of tracks like “Not” and “Flower of Blood”, but instead, they chose to focus on studio-improvised grooves and figuring it out as they went. It’s their lightest record, but no less emotionally involved; opening track "Incomprehensible" features Lenker mulling over aging and eternity to stunning degrees. On the conceptual side, this is Big Thief as sharp as ever, and it’s a good thing too, because it’s holding the record together like the grandparent keeping everyone in the family on talking terms.

Drummer James Krivchenia is on a shortlist for the millenia’s best, yet there’s something odd with the playing here; it’s a mix of the peppiness of each track and the straightforwardness of many of the grooves that evokes the “Big Love” music video by Fleetwood Mac. There’s something hokey in the waters. Some of the chord progressions in the first leg of the record reflect the “make it up as we go along” philosophy; an extra embellishment, a rewrite, something more than a loop. As you listen to them following their instincts, it draws out just how much going against the grain has serviced them in the past. The tracks feel as easy as they probably were to craft, and while they are pleasantly paced and succinct, the impact of their previous work is lost.

But that comes down to expectations, doesn’t it? It’s their job to make these records, never forget it; they’re just as allowed to do a silly one as I am to scroll on my socials on the clock (which I don’t do). They’re uber talented musicians with more chemistry than most marriages of people I know, so it’s always a joyful experience to hear them go at it again. I can get behind repetitive and cliché tracks, just like I can get behind my mum’s chicken pot pie. There’s no seasoning anywhere to be found but damn if she doesn’t love me.