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Big Thief's 'U.F.O.F.' And 'Two Hands' Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin

Big Thief
Dustin Condren
/
Courtesy of the artist
Big Thief

Big Thief had a pretty remarkable 2019. The band put out two beautiful albums, U.F.O.F. in May and Two Hands in October. Paired together, these albums present a larger picture of the band at the height of its powers, thinking and performing beyond the traditional album-tour cycle. The records, as lead singer Adrianne Lenker puts it, are spiritual siblings, or the opposite sides of a coin. While they're both Big Thief records through and through, the sound of each is dramatically different than the other.

I spoke with Adrianne and guitarist Buck Meek about the intention of recording the two albums in different locations, how they deal with fans' expectations and how this group of musicians feels like family, even to outsiders like me. Plus, do you like boondocking? Big Thief can help. But first, hear a special performance of the song "Not" at the start of this session. Listen in the player above.

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Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.

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