Given the speed at which Big Thief have been releasing albums (seven in the past five years, if you count solo records), by now you’d expect them to sound either manic or exhausted. But this wonderful double album finds the darlings of American indie-folk on a relaxed roll. Despite its long and exotic title – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You – it has the rich comfort of a yearned-for homecoming, with space to stretch and breathe over 20 tracks.
The mood is set with the easeful strum of opener “Change”, on which Adrianne Lenker sings of being “still/ Like a stone/ Like a hill/ Like home…” The loose-shouldered rattle of James Krivchenia’s drumming has the mellow momentum of: bags dropped, keys in the bowl, shoes kicked off, kettle on. Bump, clatter, clunk, click… breathe.
