Review Summary: The Grateful Sad
Folk powerhouse Big Thief have returned with what can only be described as… jam rock? The band, best known for forlorn tracks such as Vampire Empire, Paul and Not is back with a more chilled out sound. Although some tunes carry the familiar sad sound (e.g. Los Angeles, How Could I Have Known?), the bulk of Double Infinity carries a before unheard laid-back attitude. Tracks such as opener Incomprehensible, Words, All Night All Day and more are quite… hippy? Drums and all.
It's a surprising turn for a band best known for its introspective folk. Arguably, the power of the earlier albums came from its emotional intensity burning through. With this new attitude, does the band risk losing exactly that which made them memorable?
To some degree this is true. Double Infinity doesn't hit as hard as earlier releases. Yet on repeated listening there's a more subtle memorableness to the album. It's a gentle record.
We see this reflected in the lyrics, such as on Incomprehensible where Lenker reflects on growing older. She describes how she's learned to become afraid of growing older and the wrinkles and grey hairs that come with it. Yet not she finds contentment in it: “How can beauty that is livin’ be anything but true?” Or Los Angeles - a love letter to the city “even without speaking, you sang to me”. Even a more mysterious song like No Fear reads tranquil “There is no fear, mind so clear, mind so free”. Lenker sounds contend, at peace.
Potentially, the ‘jam’ sound on this album can get old quickly. If not managed well, songs can blend into each other as one hippy drum circle jam fest of chilled out contentment. Thankfully, Big Thief change it up just enough for the album not to turn stale and some moments like the crescendo in the second half of Grandmother break the potential monotony.
It's not all net though. On songs like Happy With You, the hippy drumming and neurotic chanting become overdone. Closer How Could I Have Known ends the album on a more familiar sad note, yet I can't help but feel a lack compared to the impact of their earlier work.
Double Infinity is a brave departure from a success formula. The result is somehow both memorable and forgetable, strong and weak. If you can stomach the drum circle vibe, it's worth your while though.
