U.F.O.F.

The Artist: Big Thief

Big Thief formed in Brooklyn, but their music feels untethered from place or time. Led by the magnetic Adrienne Lenker - whose voice shifts between a whisper and a raw, soaring cry - the band weaves indie rock, folk and experimental textures into something uniquely alive.

Lenker and guitarist Buck Meek met at Berklee College of Music, and the band’s chemistry grew through relentless touring and a shared sense of sonic exploration.

Over a few short years, Big Thief released a string of critically adored albums, but U.F.O.F. was quieter, weirder, more elemental.

It’s an album obsessed with the invisible - friendships, ghosts, signals from somewhere else.

The Record: U.F.O.F (2019)

This isn’t a loud album. But it is potent.

Opening track Contact moves from hushed, close-mic’d intimacy to a scream.

From there, the record floats - delicate guitar lines, brushed drums and Lenker’s surreal lyrics about light, decay and interdimensional beings.

Cattails feels like a breeze through tall grass - gentle, swaying, full of affection.

From is bare as bone. A lullaby of sorts.

And UFOF, the title track, is as elliptical and eerie as its name. A song that feels like it’s blinking at you from behind a veil.

The production, recorded live at Bear Creek Studio in rural Washington, is organic and immersive. You hear fingers on strings, the room breathing, songs being born.

There’s a stillness here, but also a deep emotional current.

You don’t just hear this album - you feel it move through you.