Ranking Big Thief’s Albums

On this site, I have a list of my favourite album for every year from 1963 to the present. The only artist to appear more than once is Big Thief.

The band formed in Brooklyn in 2015, although leader Adrianne Lenker grew up in Indiana and Minnesota, spending part of her childhood in a cult. She recorded her first album at 13, while she was also state karate champion three times.

Lenker’s keening voice and unique lyrical perspective set Big Thief apart, while the band’s Americana feels organic and intuitive. Guitarist Buck Meek, who was married to Lenker when the band formed, is the only other constant member.

I just add more tools. I find more vocabulary and I just get deeper, and things become more intricate and simultaneously simpler.

Adrianne Lenker, Double J

Big Thief recently released Double Infinity. How does it stack up against their other releases? Read on for details.

#6 Masterpiece

Big Thief recorded Masterpiece at a friend’s lake house over 12 days. It’s the only Big Thief album to feature drummer Jason Burger – current drummer James Krivchenia engineered the record. Burger’s straightforward thumping gives the band a different feel.

It’s not a masterpiece, but the second half is stronger as Big Thief cover more esoteric material. ‘Paul’ is a gorgeous character sketch – it sounds like it’s addressed to an ex-lover (“I realized there was no one who could kiss away my shit”), but it actually records Lenker’s internal monologue. The closer ‘Parallels’ finds a middle ground between the record’s rock feel and the mystic Americana that Big Thief excel at.

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#5 Capacity

James Krivchenia signed up on time for Big Thief’s second record, and his lighter touch suits Lenker’s delicate songs.

Like Masterpiece, the noisier songs are clustered towards the start, and the standouts are the gentler songs near the end. ‘Mythological Beauty’ is about a railroad spike that fell from a treehouse onto Lenker’s head, almost killing her.

You held me in the backseat with a dishrag, soaking up blood with your eyes
I was just five and you were twenty-seven/Praying “don’t let my baby die.

Adrianne Lenker, Mythological Beauty

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#4 Double Infinity

2025
Double Infinity is Big Thief’s first album without original bassist Max Oleartchik. Instead, the band recorded in Manhattan with a group of collaborators, including three female backing vocalists. The album captures a denser, more psychedelic sound than Big Thief’s earlier work.

But the songs aren’t as strong as their best records. Double Infinity is most interesting when it strays furthest from Big Thief’s core sound – the Eastern-sounding ‘Grandmother’ features Laraaji on vocals. Opener ‘Incomprehensible’ is also strong, Lenker’s voice keening about the dense, psychedelic backing.

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#3 Two Hands

2019
Immediately after completing U.F.O.F., Big Thief were back in the studio recording Two Hands. It was recorded in the hot Chihuahuan Desert of Texas, and the album reflects the dry environment.

The harder-edged pieces like ‘Forgotten Eyes’ and ‘Shoulders’ recall the primal energy of Neil Young and Crazy Horse. But the centrepiece is ‘Not’, Lenker spitting out a series of images (“It’s not the hunger revealing/Nor the ricochet in the cave/Nor the hand that is healing/Nor the nameless grave”) before the band launches into a lengthy instrumental.

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#2 U.F.O.F.

2019
U.F.O.F. was recorded in a damp log cabin in Washington State. It captures The Band’s aura of old-time Americana and taps into the mystic folk aura of Van Morrison’s early solo records. 

Only half of the band performs on ‘Cattails’ – Lenker accompanies herself adeptly on 12-string guitar, with only Krivchenia’s splashy drums for backup. Opener ‘Contact’ ratchets up from U.F.O.F.‘s introspective indie-folk into an intense coda of guitar riffing and screaming. More often, Big Thief play introspective, mystic folk.

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#1 Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

2022
The double album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You runs over eighty minutes. Yet it’s Big Thief’s most accessible album to date – the songs are more direct and diverse than ever before. The tracks were recorded in four different studios, with four different engineers, to capture the range of Lenker’s songwriting. The 20-song tracklist was chosen from 45 songs, and with a band in their prime, it’s an embarrassment of riches. 

Fabulous country-tinged tunes like ‘Red Moon’ and ‘No Reason’ are timeless and elegant. The band also sound terrific on rockier tunes – the buzzing guitars of ‘Simulation Swarm’ and the bass riff of ‘Little Things’ are among the finest moments on a great record. 

Did I underrate your favourite Big Thief album?

READ MORE

• The Band’s Albums Ranked
• More Album Rankings