"Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You" by Big Thief
The first thing that struck me about Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You was the cover: a white canvas with a drawing at the center. All four of Big Thief’s previous albums have had photograph covers full of life, while this cover is sparse. Ironically, the album is anything but. Released three years after Two Hands, Dragon is a turning point for Big Thief. At twenty tracks, the double LP showcases Big Thief’s range: the band hits on country and electronic, themes of love, life, and change. The record is swollen with the ‘bigness’ of what Big Thief can do. And yet it also feels personal. I’d like to imagine the cover image was sketched by a band member. In it, you can make out the bird and dino toy from the cover of Masterpiece, the band’s debut–throughout the chaos of this latest release, the band remembers their roots. Most of all, though, Dragon hints at the brilliance that Big Thief has in store; this is a band that’s far from finished growing. So, Big Thief, what I have to say is: I believe in you.
Dragon is best described as sprawling. The album spins off of many genres, with lyrics about exploring the cosmos with your elbows and a dragon on the phone. It was recorded during four sessions at four different locations: upstate New York; Topanga Canyon, CA; the Rockies; and Tucson, AZ, and each location comes through uniquely on the record. Similarly, all four of Big Thief’s past albums have their say here. While rock songs like “Love Love Love” recall Masterpiece, “Little Things” sounds decidedly like Capacity. Even more noticeably, this album balances the celestial UFOF and down-to-earth Two Hands, the band’s 2019 albums, with lush “Flower of Blood” contrasting earthier tracks like “Change.” Still, this album is far from stuck in the past, instead spinning the band’s strengths into something new.
Despite its breadth, country influences are a thread throughout Dragon. Songs like “Red Moon” and “Certainty” stroll through mundane beauty: watching TV, the night sky. The standout, however, is “Spud Infinity,” a rambling country track full of twang and fiddle. I get why this song might be seen as light or silly, coming from a band known for some of the most heart-wrenching indie songs you’ve ever heard. And the song is playful, but that shouldn’t be so surprising. Was “Cattails” not one of the strongest tracks on UFOF? Big Thief stands there “in [their] country flair,” leaning into the roots they’ve always had. Plus, Adrianne Lenker is the same woman who wrote “And we share a paradise / And I roll them once or twice” (from her solo song “not a lot, just forever”). How could she not capitalize on country’s penchant for wordplay? On “Spud Infinity,” the band’s strengths shine.
Still, many genres make up this album. A trio of dream pop and electronic tracks sit near the midway point: “Heavy Bend,” “Flower of Blood,” and “Blurred View.” When I was first listening to this album, I jumped when I heard “Heavy Bend’s” electronic percussion. The kicker, though, is “Flower of Blood.” Big Thief dropped that lavish, airy dream pop track like it was nothing, leaving us wanting more. I feel like Beach House whipped up Once Twice Melody in the week after Dragon’s release, just because they felt shown up. These tracks aren’t the only ones with electronic influences, either; the disjointed “Time Escaping” and even “Wake Me up to Drive” call back to the genre. More heavily produced tracks like the title track and “No Reason” continue this thread, while experimenting with new instruments, including a flute solo.
Despite its many explorations, the classically ‘Big Thief’ songs on this album still hit home. On “Little Things” in particular, Lenker’s airy voice takes listeners through all the “little things” she loves about her lover. Often, the album is personal like this. Simple guitar pairs with poetic lyrics in tracks like “Dried Roses” and “The Only Place,” which show influences from Lenker’s solo work. The details in these are where a greater theme comes through: life, like Dragon, is beautiful because of its chaos.
In the throes of February, we were sent Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You. The record sounds like winter thawing into spring, like that feeling that maybe life isn’t all that bad. “Blue Lightning” closes out the album, and that feeling, with a country kick. The song tackles what you might say this haywired album is about: the haywired-ness of life. While Dragon meanders through lost love, simple pleasures, and life’s changing nature, it ultimately lands on the fact that life is made up of all these things. “Blue Lightning” hits that. “I wanna live forever ‘til I die,” the band croons, saying: life goes on until it's done. This is part of the reason that country was so well showcased on this album. Country music, often, is about just living life; taking a chill pill and listening to some good music with the people you love. In “Blue Lightning's” outro, one of the band members asks, “what should we do now?” Good question. The answer that Big Thief gives us is to keep on living and loving life.
- Marlena Brown