Big Thief - “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You” Album Review
Big Thief makes a big comeback with one of their best works yet, with the release of their newest album.
“Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You” is the title of their newest project and is an absolute delight for those that are into indie folk-rock.
This four-member group is led by lead vocalist Adrianne Lenker. Lenker creates a warm folk-country atmosphere that’ll grab the listener’s attention right off the bat, especially with that first track “Change,” a gorgeous country melody with equally gorgeous guitar interludes.
Pitchfork writer Andy Cush describes the contents of this album perfectly, as an album that is “as gleefully overstuffed as its title.”
Is this a good thing though? Audiences may tend to agree that this LP is lengthy, but it remains consistent in its experience throughout.
With a dash of trip-hop and potatoes? This record lacks the more narrow and focused direction of its predecessors like “U.F.O.F.” and “Two Hands,” but this also contributes to many of the album’s strengths.
From “Dragon’s” beginning to its last song “Blue Lighting,” audiences will notice that the band arranges itself differently for each track, as they work more off each other’s dynamic.
The album’s introduction, “Change” is classic Big Thief, a somber and soft folk tune accompanied by poetic lyrics from Lenker.
When fans get to that next tune though it’ll leave them in awe, as in “Oh, that’s different?”
“Time Escaping” is a kaleidoscope of clanging and banging percussive instruments, coming together to create their melody.
This band isn’t afraid to dabble with different arrangements and instruments compared to other folk artists who strictly stick to the typical voice and guitar strumming.
Atypical of what they usually do, this song is representative of that, something that continues throughout the record.
That self-titled track “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You” can be best described as majestic, as Lenker outshines the whole performance with both her vocals and lyrics- as always.
As for the LP’s lyrical themes, this is hard to pinpoint as one could best describe the album's focus as. . . . almost anything or everything. Topics of each song range from the celestial perspective of humanity in “Spud Infinity” to the narrow-minded infatuation of one’s romantic partner in “Little Things.”
There’s a little bit of everything in this album, yet one thing remains the same, and that would be the emotionality and charm of what each song has to say.
Although Big Thief was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group remained undeterred; this newest addition to their discography being proof of that.
One thing rings true, and that’s the fact that this album did not disappoint.
Rating: 9/10
Reviewer’s Favorite Tracks: “Little Things,” “Time Escaping” and “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You”
Reviewer’s Least Favorite Tracks: N/A
Jon Mead is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jkm6040@psu.edu.
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