Big Thief - Two Hands LP

Label: 4AD

Two Hands, a completely new, fully-realized, 10-song album by Big Thief, will arrive just five months after their breakthrough U.F.O.F., one of the most acclaimed albums of 2019. In sharp contrast to the wet environment of the U.F.O.F. session, Two Hands had to be completely different— an album about the earth and the bones beneath it. The songs were recorded live with almost no overdubs. All but two songs feature entirely live vocal takes, leaving Adrianne’s voice suspended above the mix in dry air, raw and vulnerable as ever. Where U.F.O.F. layered mysterious sounds and effects for levitation, Two Hands grounds itself on dried-out, cracked desert dirt. Anybody who has borne witness to Big Thief in the wild will find songs they recognize here. Much of the album’s tracks (“The Toy”, “Those Girls”, “Shoulders”, “Not”, “Cut My Hair”) have been live staples for years. Two Hands has the songs that I’m the most proud of; I can imagine myself singing them when I’m old,” says singer/songwriter Adrianne Lenker. With raw power, intimacy, and honor, Two Hands folds itself gracefully into Big Thief’s impressive discography. This body of work grows deeper and more inspiring with each new album.