U.F.O.F.

Last updated

U.F.O.F.
U.F.O.F. cover.jpg
Studio album by
Big Thief
ReleasedMay 3, 2019 (2019-05-03)
RecordedJune 2018
Studio Bear Creek, Woodinville, WA
Genre
Length43:15
Label 4AD
Producer Andrew Sarlo
Big Thief chronology
Capacity
(2017)		U.F.O.F.
(2019)		 Two Hands
(2019)
Singles from U.F.O.F.
  1. "U.F.O.F."
    Released: February 26, 2019
  2. "Cattails"
    Released: April 3, 2019
  3. "Century"
    Released: April 30, 2019

U.F.O.F. is the third studio album by the American band Big Thief, released through 4AD on May 3, 2019. [6]

Contents

The album was recorded in June 2018 [7] at Bear Creek Studio, a secluded studio with lush nature surroundings in Woodinville, Washington. [8] The songs "From" and "Terminal Paradise" previously appeared in a different form on Adrianne Lenker's 2018 solo album Abysskiss . [9] The title initials stand for "UFO friend", according to lyrics in the title track. [10] The album received acclaim from music critics and was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. [11]

Five months after the album's release, Big Thief released their fourth studio album, Two Hands . Described as the "earth twin" to U.F.O.F., it was recorded at Sonic Ranch in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas days after the band completed recording for U.F.O.F. in Washington. [12] [13]

Recording

The album was recorded at Bear Creek Studio, in Woodinville, Washington. [8] Many of the songs started to take shape on tour, but the band continued to experiment, resulting in some of the songs being written only hours before recording them. [14] They recorded in a large room, with the band recording their tracks live. [14]

Music and lyrics

The album was described by Pitchfork as having "lush" instrumentals to accompany Adrianne Lenker's "lonely and elliptical" lyrics. [15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.4/10 [16]
Metacritic 87/100 [17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [10]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [19]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [20]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [21]
Pitchfork 9.2/10 [2]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [22]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Uncut 9/10 [23]
Vice (Expert Witness)A− [24]

U.F.O.F. received critical acclaim upon release. On Metacritic, which uses a normalized rating from music critics, the album holds a score of 87 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [17]

The album was named "Best New Music" by Pitchfork, with a score of 9.2/10 and the website calling the album the band's "undoubtedly best" and "a mesmerizing flood of life filtered down into a concentrated drip." [2] In 2020, AllMusic named U.F.O.F. as one of the best albums of the 2010s. [25]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Adrianne Lenker.

No.TitleLength
1."Contact"3:54
2."U.F.O.F."3:08
3."Cattails"4:05
4."From"3:58
5."Open Desert"3:47
6."Orange"3:30
7."Century"3:07
8."Strange"3:41
9."Betsy"3:28
10."Terminal Paradise"3:25
11."Jenni"4:11
12."Magic Dealer"3:01
Total length:43:15

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [7]

Big Thief
Additional musicians
Technical
Artwork

Charts

Chart (2019)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [26] 26
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [27] 80
Irish Albums (IRMA) [28] 81
Scottish Albums (OCC) [29] 21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [30] 68
UK Albums (OCC) [31] 41
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [32] 9
US Billboard 200 [33] 142
US Folk Albums (Billboard) [34] 3
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [35] 13
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [36] 26
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard) [37] 2

References

  1. ↑ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Larson, Jeremy D. (May 6, 2019). "Big Thief: U.F.O.F." Pitchfork . Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Tijerina, Daniela (May 10, 2019). "Big Thief Ponder the Eternal on the Spellbinding 'UFOF'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Cummings, Bill (May 3, 2019). "U.F.O.F. by Big Thief Album Review". God is in the TV. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ Rega, Konstantin (May 3, 2019). "Big Thief: U.F.O.F. Album Review". Treblezine. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  6. ↑ Blais-Billie, Braudie (February 26, 2019). "Big Thief Announce New Album U.F.O.F., Share New Song: Listen". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  7. 1 2 U.F.O.F. (liner notes). Big Thief. 4AD. 2019. 4AD-0129.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. 1 2 "Bear Creek Studio alumnus stars in centerpiece film at SIFF". Archived from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Album Of The Week: Big Thief U.F.O.F." Stereogum. April 30, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  10. 1 2 Donelson, Marcy. "U.F.O.F. – Big Thief". AllMusic . Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  11. ↑ "5 Takeaways from the 2020 Grammy Nominations". Pitchfork. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  12. ↑ Martoccio, Angie (August 13, 2019). "Big Thief Drop New Single 'Not,' Detail Second 2019 LP 'Two Hands'". Rolling Stone .
  13. ↑ "Big Thief Announce New Album 'Two Hands': Hear "Not"". August 13, 2019.
  14. 1 2 "U.F.O.F." shopusa.4ad.com. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  15. ↑ Larson, Jeremy. "Big Thief: U.F.O.F." Pitchfork. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  16. ↑ "U.F.O.F. by Big Thief reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  17. 1 2 "U.F.O.F. by Big Thief Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  18. ↑ Aroesti, Rachel (May 3, 2019). "Big Thief: UFOF review – folk-tinged indie bordered by demons". The Guardian . Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  19. ↑ O'Connor, Roisin; Bray, Elisa (May 2, 2019). "Album reviews: Big Thief – UFOF and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes – End of Suffering". The Independent . Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  20. ↑ Segal, Victoria (June 2019). "Big Thief: U.F.O.F.". Mojo (307): 86.
  21. ↑ Mongredien, Phil (May 5, 2019). "Big Thief: UFOF review – full of subtle charm". The Observer . Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  22. ↑ Barton, Laura (July 2019). "Big Thief: U.F.O.F.". Q (399): 113.
  23. ↑ Cochrane, Greg (June 2019). "Big Thief: U.F.O.F.". Uncut (265): 24.
  24. ↑ Christgau, Robert (June 8, 2019). "Robert Christgau on Vampire Weekend's Puzzlers and Big Thief's Minor Miracles". Vice . Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  25. ↑ "The AllMusic Decade in Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Big Thief – U.F.O.F." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Big Thief – U.F.O.F." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Irish Albums Chart: 10 May 2019". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Big Thief – U.F.O.F.". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Big Thief Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Big Thief Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Big Thief Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Big Thief Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Big Thief Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
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