| Two Hands | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 11, 2019 | |||
| Recorded |
| |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Length | 39:36 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | Andrew Sarlo | |||
| Big Thief chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Two Hands | ||||
| ||||
Two Hands is the fourth studio album by the American band Big Thief, released through 4AD on October 11, 2019. The album comes five months after the release of the band's third studio album, U.F.O.F. , and is described as its "earth twin". [1] It was preceded by the singles "Not" and "Forgotten Eyes".
Recording for Two Hands began only days after the band completed recording their third studio album, U.F.O.F. , at Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, Washington. [2] Two Hands was recorded primarily at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas in July 2018. [3] It was produced by Andrew Sarlo, [4] who had since produced every album by Big Thief. [5] Compared to the lush nature setting of Bear Creek, [6] Sonic Ranch is located in the dry, hot Chihuahuan Desert of Texas. The album's press release indicated the studio was chosen purposely for its "vast desert location", with the songs reflecting its influence. The songs were recorded live with almost no overdubs and all but two songs feature entirely live vocal takes. [7] The album was mixed by Sarlo and drummer James Krivchenia at Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, New York in October 2018; and at Sarlo's Cabin and Sound City in Los Angeles in April 2019. [3]
The band decided to scrap the Sonic Ranch recording of "Not" because they "felt it needed openness." [8] "Not" was re-recorded at Sound City Studios in April 2019. [3] It was captured live on the first take. [8]
"Replaced", co-written by Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, appears on the album in its original demo recording. [8] The demo was recorded in a cabin in Topanga Canyon in February 2019. [3]
Two Hands sees Big Thief take on "powerful and gritty" grunge-folk. [9] It also works in indie rock, yielding a "crisper [and] more jagged" sound than that of U.F.O.F. [10] Slant saw the music as shoegazing that had 1960s / '70s folk and rock filtered through it. [11] In the album's press release, Adrianne Lenker said, "Two Hands has the songs that I'm the most proud of; I can imagine myself singing them when I'm old. Musically and lyrically, you can't break it down much further than this. It's already bare-bones." [7]
In early August, some fans who had purchased U.F.O.F. on vinyl from the 4AD website received an unmarked 7" record in the mail. It contained two songs that were later revealed to be the title track "Two Hands" and "Love In Mine", a track appearing on the Japanese version of the album. The 7" had "10/11/19" etched into it, alluding to the release date.
The album was announced on August 13, 2019, alongside the release of its first single, "Not". [12] Upon release, the song was awarded the "Best New Track" distinction by Pitchfork , with Quinn Moreland calling it "a towering statement from a group constantly leapfrogging over themselves." [13]
On the August 19, 2019, the band performed Two Hands in full during an intimate show at London's Bush Hall.
A second song from the album, "Forgotten Eyes", was released on October 2, 2019. [14]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.3/10 [15] |
| Metacritic | 85/100 [16] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Consequence of Sound | A− [17] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| The Independent | [18] |
| Mojo | [19] |
| The Observer | [20] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10 [21] |
| Q | [22] |
| Rolling Stone |  [23] |
| Uncut | 8/10 [24] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 85, based on 22 reviews. [16]
Roisin O'Connor of The Independent gave the album a perfect 5-star rating, deeming it the band's "best to date, and undoubtedly one of the best of the year." [18] Marcy Donelson of AllMusic wrote, "While it's hard to talk about Two Hands in 2019 without the context of the stunning U.F.O.F., the album's quality stands on its own, offering its own grade of intimacy, sound, and feel for alternate moods." [10] David Sackllah of Consequence of Sound wrote, "Capping one of the strongest years a rock band has had in a while, this stands as a crowning achievement, the perfect record to close out a tumultuous decade and lead into one where the damage may be irreversible." [17]
"Not" was nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. [25]
In December 2019, Spin named Two Hands as the best album of 2019 in its annual critic's picks. [26]
All tracks are written by Adrianne Lenker, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rock and Sing" | 2:03 |
| 2. | "Forgotten Eyes" | 3:31 |
| 3. | "The Toy" | 4:16 |
| 4. | "Two Hands" | 3:52 |
| 5. | "Those Girls" | 3:22 |
| 6. | "Shoulders" | 3:13 |
| 7. | "Not" | 6:07 |
| 8. | "Wolf" | 4:42 |
| 9. | "Replaced" (Lenker, Buck Meek) | 4:54 |
| 10. | "Cut My Hair" | 3:36 |
| Total length: | 39:36 | |
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [3]
Big Thief
Technical personnel
Artwork
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [27] | 99 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [28] | 20 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [29] | 119 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [30] | 59 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) [31] | 78 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [32] | 8 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [33] | 34 |
| US Billboard 200 [34] | 113 |
A Brief History of Love is the debut album from British electronic rock duo the Big Pink. The album was released on 14 September 2009 on 4AD. The Big Pink signed with 4AD in February 2009, and won the prestigious NME Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act. The band were also named as "one of the most likely breakout acts of 2009" by the BBC. Prior to the album's release, the band issued three singles: "Too Young to Love"/"Crystal Visions" on the House Anxiety label in October 2008, "Velvet" on 4AD in April 2009, and the non-album track "Stop the World" in June 2009. "Dominos", the album's first proper single and the band's fourth single overall, preceded the album on 7 September.
Big Thief is an American indie folk band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2015. The band consists of Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek and James Krivchenia (drums). Between 2015 and 2024, the band also included longtime bass guitarist, Max Oleartchik.
Capacity is the second studio album by the American band Big Thief, released through Saddle Creek Records on June 9, 2017.
Masterpiece is the debut studio album by the American band Big Thief, released through Saddle Creek Records on May 27, 2016.
U.F.O.F. is the third studio album by the American band Big Thief, released through 4AD on May 3, 2019.
King's Mouth: Music and Songs is the fifteenth studio album by experimental rock band The Flaming Lips. It was released on Record Store Day on April 13, 2019 as a limited run of 4,000 gold-coloured records for the event. An official commercial version was released on July 19, 2019.
Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of the band Big Thief, as well as an established solo artist. She has released several solo albums, including Abysskiss (2018), Songs and Instrumentals, and Bright Future, the latter of which earned her a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.
Nicolas Hakim is an American musician based in Queens, New York, United States. His first EP, Where Will We Go Part 1 & 2, was self-released in 2014. He released three albums with ATO: Green Twins (2017), Will This Make Me Good (2020), and Cometa (2022).
"Not" is a song by American indie rock band Big Thief, released as the first single from their fourth studio album Two Hands. It was released on August 13, 2019, by 4AD as a digital single alongside the album's announcement.
"Yi" and "iMi" are songs by American indie folk band Bon Iver from their fourth studio album, I, I (2019). The songs are the first two tracks on the album, with the former being a 31-second phone recording that serves as an intro to the latter. Both songs were produced by Justin Vernon, Brad Cook, and Chris Messina, with additional production by BJ Burton. "Yi" and "iMi" feature additional production by Trevor Hagen and Andrew Sarlo, respectively.
Songs and Instrumentals are two studio albums by Adrianne Lenker, both released by 4AD on October 23, 2020. They are her fourth and fifth solo albums, respectively.
Two Saviors is the second studio album by American musician and Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek. It was released on January 15, 2021, through Keeled Scales Records.
Alexander Buckley "Buck" Meek is an American musician from Wimberley, Texas, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of Big Thief. He has released three solo albums: Buck Meek (2018), Two Saviors (2021) and Haunted Mountain (2023).
Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You is the fifth studio album by the American band Big Thief, released as a double album through 4AD on February 11, 2022. Produced by drummer James Krivchenia, the album features 20 songs which were recorded over five months in five different locations across the United States. The album was supported by six singles. It is also the last album to feature bassist and founding member Max Oleartchik before his departure in 2024.
Abysskiss is the third solo studio album by Adrianne Lenker, released through Saddle Creek Records on October 5, 2018. The album was recorded at Panoramic Studio in West Marin, California with Luke Temple and Gabe Wax, who respectively handled production and engineering duties. The album consists of ten songs conceived while touring with Big Thief. The tracks "Terminal Paradise" and "From" were given a full band arrangement on Big Thief's album, U.F.O.F., released in 2019.
James Foster Krivchenia is an American musician and producer, best known as the drummer of the American indie rock band Big Thief. Krivchenia joined Big Thief in 2015 following his work with the band as a sound engineer. Krivchenia later produced the band's fifth studio album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (2022), which received a nomination for Best Alternative Music Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. In addition to his work with Big Thief, he is also a regular collaborator of Mega Bog as a longtime engineer, co-producer and percussionist and has released three solo albums: No Comment (2018), A New Found Relaxation (2020), and Blood Karaoke (2022).
Indigo Sparke is an Australian indie rock musician from Sydney.
Mat Davidson, better known by his stage name Twain, is an American alternative country musician from Brooklyn, New York. Davidson has released five full-length albums as Twain. Davidson is a former member of the bands The Low Anthem and Spirit Family Reunion.
Bright Future is the sixth solo studio album by Adrianne Lenker. It was released on March 22, 2024, through 4AD. The album is nominated for Best Folk Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
I Won't Let Go of Your Hand is an extended play by American indie folk musician Adrianne Lenker. All proceeds of the EP go to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)