Since Big Thief released their sophomore record, Capacity, in 2017, the group has stayed busy. Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek released solo efforts last year, and the full band also recorded a new album, the recently announced UFOF. At the time of the announcement, they shared the title track, and now they’re back with another preview of the record, “Cattails.”
The tender track is led by fingerpicked acoustic guitar and Lenker’s wispy vocals, and as the song progresses, it builds into a subtle and satisfying climax. Lenker said that the song came together quickly:
“‘Cattails’ came about while we were at the studio in Washington in the pine forest. Writing it was just one of those electric multicolored waves of connectivity just sweeping through my body. I stayed up late finishing the song and the next morning was stomping around playing it over and over again. We thought why not just record it, so James sat at the drums and we practiced and by the time we’d finished practicing, Dom Monks — our engineer — had already sneakily set up mics and recorded it. It was beautiful that he’d captured it right away because when James and I were playing it felt like a little portal in the fabric had opened and we were just flying. Listening back to it makes me cry sometimes.”
Listen to “Cattails” above. Big Thief also added new tour dates to their previously announced batch, so check out the band’s updated itinerary below.
4/20 — San Diego, CA @ Irenic
5/02 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
5/03 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Bootleg Theater
5/05 — Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
5/18 — Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
5/19 — Glasgow, UK @ SWG3
5/21 — Dublin, IR @ Vicar Street
5/22 — Manchester, UK @ The Ritz
5/23 — London, UK @ Roundhouse
5/24 — Bristol, UK @ SWX
5/26 — Cambridge, UK @ Cambridge Junction
5/27 — Paris, FR @ Trabendo
5/28 — Brussels, BE @ Orangerie
5/30 — Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
5/31 — Nîmes, FR @ This Is Not a Love Song Festival
6/02 — Amsterdam, NL @ Best Kept Secret
6/03-06 — Marina Di Ravenna, IT @ Beaches Brew Festival
6/30 — Berlin, DE @ Lido
6/04 — Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
6/08 — Porto, PT @ NOS Privaera Sound
8/06-10 — Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
8/08 — Copenhagen, DK @ Lille Vega
8/15-18 — Wales, UK @ Green Man Festival
8/16 — 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
10/17 — Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
10/18 — Chicago, IL @ Metro
10/19 — Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
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
10/30 — Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
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
11/11 — Columbus, OH @ The Athenaeum Theatre
UFOF is out 5/03 via 4AD. Pre-order it here.
