Indie band Big Thief returns with their sixth studio album with nine explorative, lyrically creative tracks on “Double Infinity.” Released on Sept. 5, this is their first full record since their 2022 Grammy-nominated album, “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You.”
This is their first album since bassist Max Oleartchik split ways with the band, marking a new era in Big Thief’s sound. All three returning members, Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek and James Krivchenia have released solo albums since their last recording together. The band also made an album with ‘70s folk musician Tucker Zimmerman, titled, “Dance Of Love,” released last October.
Throughout their discography, Big Thief has consistently changed their sound from album to album. Originating with the rambunctious electric guitars of their first album “Masterpiece,” while their recent record “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You” leans towards soul-stirring acoustics. Despite these frequent changes, “Double Infinity” feels like their biggest sonic shift yet.
The album’s sound can’t be narrowed to just one genre, as elements of an eerie, ethereal almost psychedelic atmosphere clash with the raw, folksy sound Big Thief is best known for.
This unique shift is likely caused by the album’s recording process. According to Stereogum, for three weeks straight the band played with a group of 13 handpicked musicians. The musicians were not shown the music beforehand, and instead were taught in the moment while the songs were being recorded, playing with their first instincts.
“It was so energizing, I kept pinching myself,” Lenker said in an interview with 3voor12 Radio when describing the recording process. “I kept feeling like this is the most fun I’ve ever had playing music.”
Although Big Thief’s sound changes on this album, Lenker’s master storytelling and profound lyricism remain consistent. This is best displayed on the album’s first and seventh tracks, “Incomprehensible” and “Grandmother.”
On the opening track, 33-year-old Lenker reflects on how society frames aging as a concept to be feared. She sings “‘I’m afraid of getting older,’ that’s what I’ve learned to say / Society has given me the words to think that way / The message spirals, ‘Don’t get saggy, don’t get grey.’”
Despite the societal pressure to fear aging and the bodily changes included, Lenker finds a sense of tranquility by reflecting on her ancestors aging process, singing: “My mother and my grandma, my great-grandmother too / Wrinkle like the river, sweeten like the dew / And as silver as the rainbow scales that shimmer purple blue / How can beauty that is livin’ be anything but true?”
Lenker sees that in this fleeting life, the only answer to fulfillment is self-acceptance, finishing the song singing “Incomprehensible, let me be.”
The album’s seventh track, “Grandmother,” features Laraaji and explores the theme of passing time, a concept commonly associated with anxiety. Confronting the fear of imminent death, Lenker counters with the lyrical refrain “Gonna turn it all into rock and roll.”
In doing so, she acknowledges the important role which music plays in pushing through the fears and anxieties that come with being alive, transforming a universal fear of the unknown into something powerfully transparent.
Despite the impressive lyricism and interesting instrumentation of the previous tracks, the album falters on the penultimate track, “Happy with You.” Repeatedly, Lenker implores the titular lyrics “Happy with you,” a total of 32 times, alternating between the lyrical refrain “Poison shame.” The repetition becomes redundant, spinning the listener in a circle with nowhere to go lyrically.
However, the simplicity of the repeated lyrics provide an interesting insight into Lenker’s world, showing how wonderfully simple the feeling of being in love is. Even when Big Thief’s production and lyrical abilities are at its worst, Lenker’s powerful storytelling still manages to shine through.
With “Double Infinity,” Big Thief once again proves that they are unafraid of pushing through genre constraints, delivering an album full of lyrical vulnerability and rich sounds. While not every track lands, the band’s ability to combine interesting production while still providing intrinsically honest and love-filled lyrics makes for a worthy listen.