Double Infinity. Big Thief

Double Infinity is a mysterious title. Infinity is already a concept so enormous that a human brain can't get around its concept. Otherwise it would not be called infinity. Let alone double that. Big Thief is not afraid to pose it as the title to its sixth album. It is an album that is at odds with the albums that came before, musically and personally. Bass player Max Oleartchik left the band in the summer of last year, citing "interpersonal reasons", which leaves the band a trio.

Musically the shift is very noticeable. Where I would always have lumped the band in somewhere between indie and alternative folk, Double Infinity adds dreampop and electronic atmospherics to those genres. The four blend into something old and new all at once. I wonder whether Adrianne Lenker has listened a lot to Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks in the run up to this album. Listen eg to 'All Night All Day' and you'll hear what I mean.

After several sessions on Spotify with Double Infinity I have still not made up my mind completely but have decided to put the album on my to buy list. Without a doubt I want to get better acquainted with this music and for a longer period of time. For one, several songs are so intriguing. They invite me to get to know them more intimately.

This starts right at the beginning. Does it start with a human voice saying "poem", instead of a drum sound? Right after, the mystery starts and all sorts of wobbly sounds are poured into my ears, without the song becoming psychedelic. The vocal delivery is both relaxed in sound and in a hurry because of the number of words being shared. It is 'Incomprehensible' how ms. Lenker manages this mix as confident as she does.

Promo photo: Daniel Arnold

Musically, Double Infinity is a departure from what came before, without the band burning its bridges behind it. As I've written before, I did not get into the first four Big Thief albums. The first two I didn't know about, with number 3 and 4 I had to work too hard to get into them. Only number 5 went down immediately and was played regularly until fairly recently. What I'm hearing on Double Infinity is truly different. The effects used in the music, the atmospherics, the adventure, the overall mood, all make Double Infinity stand out. At the same time there's a lot of laughter as you can hear in the intro to 'Los Angeles', so the band must have had fun making this music, exploring new avenues and sounds. At the same time 'Los Angeles' is a direct line with what came before. Closing song 'How Could I Have Known' is the song with the country feel, but mixing Stevie Nicks with atmospherics at that.

Several songs are not complex at the outset. A chord progression that is easy to play for even beginners on the guitar. It needs pointing out, that this is the starting point, because the band went on a limb to find the sounds that make the songs stand out. It did that with a host of friends all playing together and what we hear, is about what was recorded by them. Working with Alena Spanger, Caleb Michel, Hannah Cohen, Jon Nellen, Joshua Crumbly, June McDoom, Laraaji, Mikel Patrick Avery, Mikey Buishas certainly paid off, as Double Infinity is, like I said, very different. It's not just experimental, as the songs always came first. The quality is far above par. My guess is the album will get high into end of year lists. We will know in a few months.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order Double Infinity here:

https://bigthief.bandcamp.com/album/double-infinity