U.F.O.F.

U.F.O.F., then, is an almost perfect album.

Big Thief’s most empathic and ethereal work yet. U.F.O.F. is by no means an album that will grab for your attention, it just rests in the atmosphere like a wavelength, waiting for you to tune in – and you’ll be richly rewarded when you find it.

A foray into artful album rock for the band, U.F.O.F.'s shifts in presentation are subtle and seem wholly organic throughout. It's a record deserving of such an evocative title, which captures its dreamily impressionistic yet unsettling nature.

Big Thief are accepting the inherent beauty of life's invisible forces and their contemplation with the unknown has led them to a mindful state of raw, celestial power. U.F.O.F. is trembling with mystical energy and is truly one of the year's best records.

There's a mystical bind to UFOF that grips the listener and never lets go. [Jun 2019, p.24]

The band has flipped the script and turned the focus inwards, reflecting on the unfathomable that pervades our every moment and delivering a performance of masterfully honed restraint that perfectly encapsulates their invitation to discover the vast and alien within the seemingly familiar.

On U.F.O.F., Big Thief embrace their more subtle and mystical sides while capturing a wider array of landscapes--the cosmic (“U.F.O.F.”), bucolic (“Cattails”), domestic (“From”) and urban (“Betsy”).

A beguiling, constantly surprising record. [Jul 2019, p.113]

This all may be too intense and striking for some people (the last 70 seconds of closing track Magic Dealer are simply ambient noise), and those who were pulled in by the warm sound of Saddle Creek on the band’s first two albums may find this switch to 4AD to be too jarring. Yet, for most Big Thief fans, UFOF is a natural, welcome progression, and one that you likely won’t want to tear yourself away from.

Big Thief have taken the seeds of introspection that we caught glimpses of on Masterpiece and which showed up in a strong minority of tracks on Capacity and zeroed in on that characteristic, building an album around that subtlety of expression.

Mostly you can hear the transcendence of Big Thief as they grapple with characters who come and go, not knowing if they will ever be back, bravely embracing death, and revealing a vulnerability that becomes their biggest strength. Though they travel through the darkness spellbound by life’s biggest mysteries, they manage to emerge more at peace than ever.

Full of subtle charm, it’s an album of deceptive depths in which to immerse yourself.

It moves according to the oblique logic of the subconscious, entering your mind through the back door. A newfound attention to space has allowed Big Thief to expand their palette even as they’ve brought the volume down.

An absorbing, mystical voyage that lingers in the memory long after morning has broken and the celestial observer has vanished.

Now and then, the band delve back into their previous, less rarefied styles. ... Those diversions create moments of gut-wrenching contrast, making hackneyed rock tropes feel surprising again--proof that with this softening of their sound, Big Thief have alighted upon something that packs a real punch.

This deathly intrigue is drawn from Lenker’s own personal traumas, which she successfully spins into something that feels universal. But you don’t come away from this record feeling downcast. It’s more a reminder of how fleeting yet beautiful life is, and an appeal to make the most of it.

It takes courage to remain open, and Big Thief lead us gently from the beaten path and into the wilderness with U.F.O.F. There are lessons to be learned underwater, in the cold and among the shadows.

It's slow to coalesce, but when it does, U.F.O.F. flies. [Jun 2019, p.86]

U.F.O.F. is a beautiful album, but one that finds Big Thief a little more willing to push their limits, both in terms of abrasiveness and grace. Perhaps Big Thief are no longer a secret, but they continue to draw the listener ever closer.

A profound and poised third album, UFOF makes digging deeper seem like a natural calling.

Despite the subtle shift in tone from beginning to end, this record is consistently imbued with a shifting, evocative sense of place.

The band fills U.F.O.F. with a rich tapestry of textural tones, almost to the point of oversaturation. It's so embedded in their songs that they somehow get lost in their creation, filled with awe and wonder (and some healthy pretension).