‘Forgotten Eyes’ is the latest single from indie roots quartet Big Thief. It is the follow up to ‘Not’ – the first track from their latest album, Two Hands, released on 11 October.
While the bare production of the guitar and drums nods to the customs of garage rock, the Dylan-esque delivery of Adrianne Lenker is gorgeous; both fragile and gutsy. Lyrically, the track is full of introspective musings on the nature of human kindness – “the wound has no direction / everybody needs a home and deserves protection” – and ultimately calls out for compassion.
It all feels very raw, and while discussing their latest record in an interview with Stereogum, they confirm this approach – “Two Hands is more the micro, zooming into the blood and tissue and guts of being a human, the raw, bare, naked bones, not much layering, capturing just our performances in the room, just very dry, no reverbs, just skin and flesh and human, finite, physical.”
Their fourth album in three years, Big Thief are a prolific tour de force. The speed of their development has produced a charming, emotive and distinct sound, and ‘Forgotten Eyes’ affirms this.
Image: Michael Buishas