After a two-year stretch that saw them break out with a pair of releases — 2016’s Masterpiece and 2017’s Capacity — the members of Big Thief put in some time on solo projects. Primary singer-songwriter Adrianne Lenker released abysskiss back in the fall, while guitarist/backup singer Buck Meek dropped his self-titled solo LP last summer. Now, the whole band is back together with a new album, U.F.O.F., due May 3rd on their new label home, 4AD.
Recorded in western Washington state at Bear Creek Studios, U.F.O.F. (with the final F standing for “friend”) was tracked live with producer Andrew Sarlo, who also handled Big Thief’s first two LPs, and engineer Dom Monks. A press release notes that some of the material was written mere hours before recording and canned in a single take, while other songs were given a “New Age sprinkle of mystical textures and stabs.” However the music came about, you can be sure the tracks will be as raw, honest, and mysterious as ever.
“Making friends with the unknown… All my songs are about this,” Lenker says in a press release. “If the nature of life is change and impermanence, I’d rather be uncomfortably awake in that truth than lost in denial.”
As a first listen, Big Thief has shared the title track. “UFOF” is a dreamy spiral of guitars that pull gently like a welcome, slightly eerie tractor beam. “There will soon be proof/ That there is no alien,” sings Lenker. “Just a system of truth and lies/ The reason, the language/ And the law of attraction.”
Take a listen below. You can also pre-order U.F.O.F. now, and grab some past Big Thief vinyl at ReverbLP.
U.F.O.F. Artwork:
U.F.O.F. Tracklist:
01. Contact
02. UFOF
03. Cattails
04. From
05. Open Desert
06. Orange
07. Century
08. Strange
09. Betsy
10. Terminal Paradise
11. Jenni
12. Magic Dealer
Big Thief will support U.F.O.F. on a newly announced North American tour. Kicking off in October with a pair of shows at New York’s soon to be reopened Webster Hall, the run follows a summer trek that takes the band through Europe. Find the band’s complete itinerary below. Tickets for most of the new dates go on sale March 1st at Live Nation, and you can also check the secondary market via StubHub.
Big Thief 2019 Tour Dates:
04/20 – San Diego, CA @ Irenic
05/02 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
05/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bootleg Theater
05/05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
05/18 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
05/19 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3
05/21 – Dublin, IR @ Vicar Street
05/22 – Manchester, UK @ The Ritz
05/23 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
05/24 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
05/26 – Cambridge, UK @ Cambridge Junction
05/27 – Paris, FR @ Trabendo
05/28 – Brussels, BE @ Orangerie
05/30 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
05/31 – Nîmes, FR @ This Is Not a Love Song Festival
06/02 – Amsterdam, NL @ Best Kept Secret
06/03 – Berlin, DE @ Lido
06/04 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
06/05-06 – Marina Di Ravenna, IT @ Beaches Brew Festival
06/08 – Porto, PT @ NOS Primavera Sound
08/06-10 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
08/08 – Copenhagen, DK @ Lille Vega
08/15-18 – Wales, UK @ Green Man Festival
08/16 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop Festival
10/10 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
10/11 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
10/12 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
10/13 – Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre
10/15 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
10/16 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
10/18 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
10/21 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/24 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
10/25 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
10/26 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
10/28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
11/01 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
11/02 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister
11/04 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre
11/05 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
11/07 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
11/08 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
11/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
11/10 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
