One of the best bands around is at it again: Big Thief have shared yet another pair of singles ahead of their much-anticipated new double album, bringing the total so far to seven. The 20-track Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is out Feb. 11, 2022, on 4AD, and has the makings of Adrianne Lenker, Max Oleartchik, Buck Meek and James Krivchenia’s masterpiece.
You could argue Dragon is a concept record—the concept being Big Thief’s attempt at “encapsulating the many different aspects of Adrianne’s songwriting and the band onto a single record,” as envisioned by Krivchenia, who produces. They recorded across four sessions, each with its own location (Upstate New York, Topanga Canyon, The Rocky Mountains and Tucson, Arizona), co-producer (Sam Evian, Shawn Everett, Dom Monks and Scott McMicken, respectively), and instrumental feel. “No Reason” came out of the Rockies sessions with UFOF and Two Hands engineer Monks, while “Spud Infinity” was a Tucson/McMicken track.
Big Thief stumbled on one of their “No Reason” collaborators as if destined: “In the Colorado Rockies, the band heard someone playing flute beautifully from a nearby lookout tower,” a press release recounts. “They soon met the person responsible for the sound—musician Richard Hardy, who played on countless records over the past 30 years, including several with Carole King. They invited him to sit in on some songs,” including “No Reason,” to which his flute-playing adds a wistful Laurel Canyon lightness.
“Spud Infinity,” meanwhile, features fiddle from Mat Davidson of Twain—a key contributor to the Tucson sessions—and jaw harp by Noah Lenker, Adrianne’s younger brother. These elements combine to create the folksiest and most playful preview of Dragon yet, filling out a track that both Big Thief and a solo Lenker have delighted fans with live.
“No Reason” and “Spud Infinity” follow previous Dragon singles “Time Escaping,” “Little Things,” “Sparrow,” “Certainty” and “Change.” Paste recently praised “Little Things” among 2021’s best songs.
Listen to “No Reason” and “Spud Infinity” and revisit Big Thief’s 2016 Daytrotter session below. Keep scrolling for the band’s 2022 tour dates, featuring support from KMRU and Tucker Zimmerman.
Big Thief 2022 Tour Dates:
January
31 – Lille, FR @ L’Aéronef *
February
01-02 – Paris, FR @ La Cigale *
04 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey *
05 – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo *
07 – Lyon, FR @ Le Transbordeur *
08 – Strasbourg, FR @ La Laiterie Artefact *
09 – Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten *
10 – Munich, DE @ Cafe Muffathalle *
12 – Prague, CZ @ MeetFactory *
13 – Berlin, DE @ Huxleys Neue Welt *
14 – Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall +
15 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA – SOLD OUT +
16 – Hamburg, DE @ Fabrik *
18 – Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall *
19 – Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royal *
21 – Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli Vredgenburg *
22 – Groningen, NL @ De Oosterpoort *
24 – Manchester, GB @ Manchester Academy 1 *
25 – Glasgow, GB @ Barrowland Ballroom *
26 – Dublin, IE @ The National Stadium *
27 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Bristol *
March
2 – London, GB @ 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire *
3 – London, GB @ 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire +
4 – London, GB @ 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – SOLD OUT +
April
12 – Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre of Ithaca
13 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
15-16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
18 – Montreal, QUE @ L’Olympia
19 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
21 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
22 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
23 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
25 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
26 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Pabst Theater
27 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
29 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
May
02 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
03-04 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
07 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
10-11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theatre
12 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
14 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s – SOLD OUT
15 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s
June
09 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound 2022
11 – Rotterdam, NL @ Best Kept Secret 2022
12 – Berlin, DE @ Tempelhof Sounds
16 – Helsinki, FI @ Sideways 2022
18 – Stavanger, NL @ Mablis Festival 2022
19 – Bergen, NO @ Kulturhuset i Bergen
20 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller Music Hall
21 – Gothenburg, SE @ Pustervik
(* w/ KMRU)
(+ w/ Tucker Zimmerman)
