Big Thief – Capacity

Every once in a while, a band comes along that leaves expectations, cynicism, and emotional distance ruined in a heap on the floor. Brooklyn’s Big Thief is that band. To hear songwriter Adrianne Lenker’s lilting narratives and twisted, fuzzy guitars is to love them. Lenker’s lyrical storytelling is equally grounded and autobiographical as it is surreal and cabalistic. Just ask Big Thief fan Sharon Van Etten. “Some of the most compelling songs I’ve heard in a long time,” says Van Etten. “Driving songs that take you on a real journey, with intelligent stories and twist-and-turn melodies. And fun as hell live.”

Capacity comes just one year after the stunning debut of Masterpiece. The album took them on near-constant tours coast-to-coast in the U.S., to the U.K. and Europe twice, and around the world to Australia. But before leaving on their global adventures, they recorded Capacity in a snowy winter nest in upstate New York at Outlier Studio with producer Andrew Sarlo, who also produced Masterpiece. Sarlo worked intimately with the band to arrange most of the songs for the first time at the studio, moving from conception to birth in a matter of hours. Bonfires were built each night, a month of meals were prepared and shared by the five, with maple water from a tree tap each morning, everyone helping feed the sheep, chickens, and angora rabbits on the farm.