Big Thief

new album is fucking brilliant on first listen

Great band

Gave the album a listen today... one of the most monotonous records I've heard in a long time. Seems to be getting nothing but universal praise from the press, did nothing but bore me.

i figured you'd dislike it. i liked it off the bat and it's grown with every listen, absolutely adoring it right now. seems to really get under the skin in the most pleasant of ways.

I also found it a bit boring but will give it another couple of spins before I decide it's not for me. I can kind of hear why it might be a grower.

yeah man. just feel like the melodies, subtly lush, muted arrangements, vocals and lyrics are all spot on. comes together so very beautifully (imo obvs etc)

i'm likely just getting old

I gave it a listen whilst pulling weeds out of the garden in the sunshine yesterday. It kind of washed over me at the time but didn't grab me either...

The reviews have been so universally positive since day 1 with this band that I don't really know what to think. I find them pleasant but very uneventful and generic, I can't avoid thinking press is lifting them a bit too much and people is not really catching up. We'll see if they stand on the highish spots they are occupying on festivals

Nice little record, just don’t get the reviews.

Apologies for the slight digression, but on the same subject of reviews, why do all r&b/rap records get 9/10 reviews these days?
The imbalance is phenomenal.

You’d think metacritic would be a good guide for all things music, games, and movies, but it really isn’t. I’m at a point now in my life where I only end up loving 4 or 5 albums a year, despite listening to 50 to 100 new albums a year at least.

Stuff such as metacritic & rotten tomatoes are completely useless IMO. The majority of mainstream press is paid for, which is why gutless garbage such as the 1975 and Casey Musgraves are hyped up by every single publication. If they refuse major labels good reviews then these same magazines know they won't be given access to big names that make them money.

With music you're best off finding an act you like, then following whatever record label or gig promoter puts them on & checking out acts associated with them. I still enjoy the old way of finding music through recommendations from people with similar tastes/viewpoints.

Good points Karl, but its a complete nightmare for people who only have 2 to 3 hours of free time in the evening. The soapbox could be the last hope for people like me.

Defo agree with the label point. I’ll listen to pretty much anything certain ones put out. Lost Map, ran by the Pictish Trail (formerly of Fence Collective) is probably the best in Scotland right now. Rock Action, Mogwai’s label, is also consistently good.

Tunnel vision

Back on topic. Big Thief really ain’t that great. A lassie with a so-so voice singing so-so songs.

Yep, this is how i'm discovering the majority of new music these days. There's such a dearth of great young artists coming through throughout the UK at the moment, and lucky that a bunch of stuff i really love is coming out o TCOTU, i generally use social media now to just track labels and promotors and I just trawl through stuff they're putting out and artists they're putting on and then meandering through the web of connections that brings. I still check the usual sites, Pitchfork, NNE, Quietus etc.. but this seems to be more habitual than anything. I'll always check the Pitchfork best new music and stuff, as it's a good place for me to find hip-hop & r'n'nb stuff, but ithas definitely changed it's agenda and focus since it was bought out by Conde Nast.

I genuinely haven't been this excited about new music for a very long time.

*fake edit* - Oh yeah, Big Thief are jank.

Well, i'm with the everwise Monkey Tennis. The album is sublime.

Hey, at least you got a better reaction than my Callum Easter thread!