Big Thief (Photo by Alexa Viscius)
Big Thief’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, out now on 4AD, is already one of the most raved about albums of 2022. The band tour in support of the album with a date at The Anthem in DC on Thursday, April 21.
Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You explores the deepest elements and possibilities of Big Thief. To truly dig into all that the music of Adrianne Lenker, Max Oleartchik, Buck Meek, and James Krivchenia desired in 2020, the band decided to write and record over four distinct recording sessions in Upstate New York, Topanga Canyon, The Rocky Mountains, and Tucson, Arizona. After 5 months, Big Thief came out with 45 completed songs, which was edited down into 20 tracks. The album was produced by Krivchenia, who initially pitched the recording concept for DNWMIBIY back in late 2019 with the goal of encapsulating the many different aspects of Adrianne’s songwriting and the band onto a single record.
“Simulation Swarm” is another powerhouse track. On “Simulation Swarm,” Lenker dishes more emotional dream-world poetry before slipping into one of the greatest lead guitar riffs in Big Thief history.
Watch Big Thief perform “Simulation Swarm” live on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on YouTube:
The attempt to capture something deeper, wider, and full of mystery, points to the inherent spirit of Big Thief. Traces of this open-hearted, non-dogmatic faith can be felt through previous albums, but here on Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You lives the strongest testament to its existence.
Big Thief
w/ Kara-Lis Coverdale
The Anthem
Thursday, April 21
Doors @ 6:30pm
$41
All ages