Never heard of them? They hope to change that soon. Named one of “15 Artists to Watch” for the best up and coming artists for Coachella 2018 by Rolling Stone, Big Thief made the list with artists like Greta Van Fleet. Described as “folk-tinged indie rock” and hailing from Brooklyn, the group made their big break with a performance on national television on Late Night with Seth Meyers in the spring of last year, and proved they aren’t going anywhere with a Saturday performance at Coachella this past April. They are led by lead vocalist Adrianne Lenker, who got her start at home in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2006. She went on to start a duo with current Big Thief member Buck Meek in 2014, and soon added bassist Max Oleartchik and drummer James Krivchenia. They newly formed band released their first album in the spring of 2016, and titled it, Masterpiece. It was picked up by a Rolling Stone critic who gave it a 3.5 out of 5, appreciating the musical style and feeling concerned about the content.

The songs written by Lenker and this group tell the stories of the past so horrible they have left scars to this day. Yet while one song may detail the chilling past of domestic abuse, the next is a story of a love lasting a lifetime. Each song is truly a work of art, and it is built on the foundation of a story. The lyrics of each song tell a story and draw you in, even without music. But the music really gives life to the stories that Lenker has written, with melodies that give the lyrics flight. But the music never gets so intense that you lose focus of the story. The music stays really relaxed even in its most intense moments. The music doesn’t need to get loud to put you on edge. The band plays with dissonances and the less-ordinary sounds their instruments can make. It throws you off, gives you an uneasy feeling, but draws you in all at the same time. The attention to detail and passion that is put into each song really shows. One reviewer commented that it was if the songs that made it to the album were the ones cherry-picked from the life-long repertoire of a songwriter. However, Adrianne Lenker is not near the end of her songwriting career, she is only in her mid-twenties. She has been through so much in such a short period of time, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next for the excellent musicians of Big Thief.