This sprawling, 20-track double-LP from BIG THIEF does the miracle of managing to be simultaneously ambitious and liesurely, using multiple recording sessions to capture the many facets of their songwriter ADRIANNE LENKER and the band's intuitive, textured playing. Now what strikes us on these songs is how confident they are rhythmically; the way in which the band can wrap themselves around a hook or a bridge makes it as if these weren't written so much as plucked from the air. Many of these tracks hew close to a sound like FAIRPORT CONVENTION, others at a more easygoing, JOHN PRINE-like pace. At any speed, this album is among the best in BIG THIEF's already brilliant catalogue. ULTRA RECOMMENDED.

This sprawling, 20-track double-LP from BIG THIEF does the miracle of managing to be simultaneously ambitious and liesurely, using multiple recording sessions to capture the many facets of their songwriter ADRIANNE LENKER and the band's intuitive, textured playing. Now what strikes us on these songs is how confident they are rhythmically; the way in which the band can wrap themselves around a hook or a bridge makes it as if these weren't written so much as plucked from the air. Many of these tracks hew close to a sound like FAIRPORT CONVENTION, others at a more easygoing, JOHN PRINE-like pace. At any speed, this album is among the best in BIG THIEF's already brilliant catalogue. ULTRA RECOMMENDED.