Big Thief – Grandmother & Los Angeles
Big Thief release two new singles, “Grandmother (ft. Laraaji)” and “Los Angeles,” from their sixth studio album, Double Infinity, out September 5th via 4AD. The singles follow last month’s “All Night All Day.”
“Grandmother (ft. Laraaji)” is the first song all three members of Big Thief wrote together and grapples with generational love and pain. To her grandmother, Lenker sings: “ It’s alright, everything that happened, happened / So what’s the use of holding? It’s unfolding / We’re all insane / We are made of love / We are also made of pain.” In the song’s chorus, Lenker concludes, “Gonna turn it all into rock and roll.” Laraaji features on backing vocals and zither.
Classic and steadfast, “Los Angeles” is a song of revival about past lovers turning into friends. “I’ll follow you forever. Even without looking. You call we come together,” Lenker sings, reflecting on how time may reshape love, but can’t sink it. The chorus names the magic spell that first bound them, and still braids their lives: “You sang for me. You sang for me.” It may be the most immediate and classic song the band have yet released.
Double Infinity was recorded last winter at the Power Station, New York City. For three solid weeks, the trio would ride bicycles on frozen streets between Brooklyn and Manhattan, meeting in Power Station’s warm wood-panelled room. Together with a community of musicians (Alena Spanger, Caleb Michel, Hannah Cohen, Jon Nellen, Joshua Crumbly, June McDoom, Laraaji, Mikel Patrick Avery, Mikey Buishas), they would play for nine hours a day, tracking together – simultaneously – improvising arrangements and making collective discoveries. The album was recorded live with minimal overdubs. Double Infinity was produced, engineered and mixed by longtime Big Thief collaborator Dom Monks.
Double Infinity will be released digitally and on cassette, CD, and standard black vinyl. Limited green and ‘Sparkle Universe’ vinyl editions.
Big Thief will embark on the first leg of their Somersault Slide 360 Tour in support of Double Infinity in September. The extensive tour – their first US shows in over a year – includes stops at Berkeley’s The Greek Theater, Los Angeles’s The Hollywood Bowl (their largest non-festival headline show yet), Boston’s MGM Music Hall, New York’s Forest Hills Stadium, and their first show in Mexico at Teatro Metropolitan.
BIG THIEF TOUR DATES:
Wed. Sept. 17 – Sacramento, CA @ Channel 24
Fri. Sept. 19 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield
Sun. Sept. 21 – Boise, ID @ Outlaw Field
Mon. Sept. 22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Twilight Concert Series
Thu. Sept. 25 – Berkeley, CA @ The Greek Theatre
Sat. Sept. 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl*
Sun. Sept. 28 – San Diego, CA @ Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
Wed. Oct. 1 – Mexico City, MX @ Teatro Metropolitan
Mon. Oct. 20 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre
Tue. Oct. 21 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall
Wed. Oct. 22 – Philadelphia, PA @The Met
Fri. Oct. 24 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
Sat. Oct. 25 – Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium
Wed. Oct. 29 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
Thu. Oct. 30 – Atlanta, GA @ The Fox Theatre
Fri. Oct. 31 – New Orleans, LA @ Saenger Theatre
Mon. Nov. 3 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
Tue. Nov. 4 – Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory
Wed. Nov. 5 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park
Fri. Nov. 7 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Lawn
* w/ Noname
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