Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
by Big Thief
  • Record Label: 4AD
  • Release Date: Feb 11, 2022
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 77 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 72 out of 77
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 77
  3. Negative: 3 out of 77
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. ReubenIsAGod
    Feb 13, 2022
    9
    An album that oozes with creativity and passion. Just a lot of very talented song-writers writing their hearts out with complete creative freedom. Big Thief have finally managed to create their opus, and it's comfortable hearing them having a blast, cheerfully laughing and embracing themselves with love.
  2. rkeniger
    Feb 15, 2022
    10
    Definitely my favourite album of the year so far. Big Thief are pushing themselves a bit further with this one. It's a big album, and there's a lot of variety. I love the opener, 'Change', it's beautiful, and the country banger Red Moon is a lot of fun.
  3. awitchwithadick
    Feb 14, 2022
    10
    the album of the year is here. can't wait to see what they're gonna do next to keep or improve their standard. long live big thief
  4. spacemanrecords
    Feb 15, 2022
    9
    This is a record that sounds exactly like how the cover looks. An odd assortment of creatures and people sitting around a bon fire and creating music together...

    The musical communication between the band members here is fantastic. Their chemistry shines through in such a way, that it makes you feel like you are in the room with the band. Just a bunch of hippies jamming out and noodling    This is a record that sounds exactly like how the cover looks. An odd assortment of creatures and people sitting around a bon fire and creating music together...

    The musical communication between the band members here is fantastic. Their chemistry shines through in such a way, that it makes you feel like you are in the room with the band. Just a bunch of hippies jamming out and noodling around, with perfect cohesion.

    I was skeptical of the length of this project, coming in at 1hr20min, but I will say... Shockingly, the sounds and ideas, do not overstay their welcome! Genres span from Folk, to Indie, to country, and often times mixing all three.

    I would like to applaud the band for creating such a cool sounding album for us!

    My favorite songs are, Time Escaping, Little Things, Blurred View, and Simulation Storm.

    Im giving this album a STRONG 9    … Expand
  5. Fuerstenberg
    Mar 7, 2022
    7
    With "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You" Big Thief succeeds in creating a monumental feature-length masterpiece. The Brooklyn band shows itself more experimental than ever and reassured and complacent at the same time. This combination is incredibly rare and so soothing, soft and loose that it's impossible to dislike it.

    Somehow, everything about this album is a bit too long –    With "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You" Big Thief succeeds in creating a monumental feature-length masterpiece. The Brooklyn band shows itself more experimental than ever and reassured and complacent at the same time. This combination is incredibly rare and so soothing, soft and loose that it's impossible to dislike it.

    Somehow, everything about this album is a bit too long – which starts with the name and goes over to the playing time. The record's fragile and experimental style sounds unfinished and strained at times. No offense, but after 80 minutes you have simply gone through enough experiments and vocal gradations of Adrianne Lenker.

    My favorites:
    "Little Things"
    "Simulation Swarm"
    "Flower of Blood"

    ~ Fürstenberg
    March 7, 2022    … Expand
  6. GSWstatic
    Feb 23, 2022
    10
    Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is going to stay with you for a long time album year a 20 track song craft masterclass each its own little world that comes together in a way I couldn't see until it was done playing over an hour of the best new music of the 2020s I might see dragons but I hare gods!
  7. Ricko
    Apr 5, 2022
    9
    Between Big Thief albums and solo records, the last 6 years have seen Adrianne Lenker produce 7 albums, all of which are hitting the "brilliance" mark. You'd be forgiven for questioning whether Lenker has struck some kind of Faustian bargain, such is the songwriting power she yields. The only word is supernatural. I'm struggling to think of an artist who is both as prolific and consistentBetween Big Thief albums and solo records, the last 6 years have seen Adrianne Lenker produce 7 albums, all of which are hitting the "brilliance" mark. You'd be forgiven for questioning whether Lenker has struck some kind of Faustian bargain, such is the songwriting power she yields. The only word is supernatural. I'm struggling to think of an artist who is both as prolific and consistent in the same time span. "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You", Big Thief's 5th album, is a colossus and their masterpiece up to this point. Spanning 20 tracks and 80 minutes, the album covers a wide range of styles from country to folk rock, from lo fi indietronica to raw singer songwriter folk. While it is a monster to consume, it is hard to find any below par tracks and I have found that even the occasional supposed misstep has grown on me the more I listen. At least half of the tracks tread the genius category. "Simulation Swarm" is up there with Mythological Beauty" among my favourite Big Thief tracks and gives a good sense of what the album offers. It's up there with The Beatles (White) in terms of scope and ambition and I have no doubt it will go down as an all time classic. Hard to see where the band can possible go from here.… Expand
  8. Paodanto
    Feb 14, 2022
    10
    Big Thief are magic and this album is great. Li adoro e in questo periodo ascolto solo loro !!
  9. leumassregor
    Apr 18, 2022
    9
    This is an album that is soothing, exciting, and captivating. The passion is heard and leaks through in the form of the vocals and production. "Time Escaping" and "Simulation Swarm" are my two favorites.
  10. AntonMit
    Feb 22, 2022
    10
    This was really great, highly innovative lyrics and music, really enjoyed it and want to listen again.
  11. iamgabriel
    Apr 19, 2022
    10
    Given the speed at which Big Thief have been releasing albums (seven in the past five years, if you count solo records), by now you’d expect them to sound either manic or exhausted. But this wonderful double album finds the darlings of American indie-folk on a relaxed roll. Despite its long and exotic title – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You – it has the rich comfort of aGiven the speed at which Big Thief have been releasing albums (seven in the past five years, if you count solo records), by now you’d expect them to sound either manic or exhausted. But this wonderful double album finds the darlings of American indie-folk on a relaxed roll. Despite its long and exotic title – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You – it has the rich comfort of a yearned-for homecoming, with space to stretch and breathe over 20 tracks.

    The mood is set with the easeful strum of opener “Change”, on which Adrianne Lenker sings of being “still/ Like a stone/ Like a hill/ Like home…” The loose-shouldered rattle of James Krivchenia’s drumming has the mellow momentum of: bags dropped, keys in the bowl, shoes kicked off, kettle on. Bump, clatter, clunk, click… breathe.

    Home is an idea that Lenker often circles around. The child of young parents, she was the eldest of three kids born into a religious cult in Indianapolis. The family left when she was four. But in 2017 she told Pitchfork that “there was a lot of residual debris – I was coming out of what felt like a cloud of judgement and control for another four years”. The Lenkers travelled around in a van and lived in 14 homes before their daughter was eight. That was the age at which Lenker began writing songs to process her anger. She met Texan guitarist Buck Meek in New York, after studying at Berklee College of Music. The pair began writing songs together, eventually weaving the sounds of Krivchenia and bassist Max Oleartchik into the Big Thief’s rootsy, critically acclaimed 2016 debut, Masterpiece.

    In a market saturated with arty folk rockers, Big Thief stand out not by doing things weirder, but by doing them better. Instead of the introspection employed by so many of the genre’s singer-songwriters, Lenker keeps things interesting with the questing outward gaze and quirky lyrical choices. You’re always interested in what she’s going to say next. She’s got a beady-eyed magpie knack for catchy melodies; the band have a playful, earthy ease together. This means that across the span of Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, they constantly change the sonic texture without any apparent effort. Harp, accordion and scrawling electric guitars all smudge into the grain at various points. The Neil Youngian Americana of “Change” strolls casually into the twangy groove of “Time Escaping”, and on into the fiddle and jaw harp hoedown of “Spud Infinity”, on which Lenker semi-yodels: “Everybody steps on ants/ Everybody eats the plants/ Everybody knows to dance…”

    Food references tumble nourishingly throughout the record. The heartbreak of “12,000 Lines” is soothed by “sweet honey” stirred into hot tea. As Meek’s gentle voice joins Lenker for a chorus where she’s “waiting for my woman to call”, the tune swirls warm and golden. “Sparrow” offers a sensuous, biblical description of Eve sucking the juice from the apple. “Dried Roses” sees a microwave turned on, while “Certainty” points out a “crow gnawing on dawn”. There’s a rigour to Lenker’s voice that means folky references to the outdoors – ivy, eagles and spiders – don’t come off as twee. The tech-doubting “Simulation Swarm” observes the “winged created in silken height”, comparing it to the sapping drone of fluorescent lights. There’s wit in the mix too, as Lenker offers to kiss her lover all over “except for your elbows”. Later, she gives garlic bread what must surely be its crunchiest lyrical shout-out of the 21st century.

    Recommended
    Mitski review, Laurel Hell: Artist owns her contrariness on this free-sounding jumble of ideas
    Mitski review, Laurel Hell: Artist owns her contrariness on this free-sounding jumble of ideas
    Album reviews: Black Country New Road, Bastille, Cate Le Bon and Animal Collective
    Album reviews: Black Country New Road, Bastille, Cate Le Bon and Animal Collective
    Culture war and revolution: 30 Years of Manic Street Preachers’ Generation Terrorists
    Culture war and revolution: 30 Years of Manic Street Preachers’ Generation Terrorists
    It may only be February, but I’m pretty sure that Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is going to be one of my albums of the year. Because few records managed to be this soothing, and interesting too. Lenker and co really want to welcome you into their ideas. As she whispers on “Time Escaping”, “S’easy/ S’music.” Ahhhh…

    More aboutBig Thief
    Join our new commenting forum
    Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies


    Comments    … Expand
  12. BNB_66
    May 7, 2022
    10
    Amazing album it is haunting and mesmerizing: definitely a stand out album.
  13. bthompson2
    Feb 11, 2022
    9
    Beautiful sprawling album filled with emotion and love. Thank you, Big Thief!
  14. erolsabadosh
    Dec 3, 2022
    10
    Easily the best album of 2022. Full of creativity and stellar songwriting; it's amazing that there are no dull moments or bad stretches despite being 80 minutes in total. This deserves the highest praise.
  15. DevanNotDevin
    Sep 5, 2022
    9
    It's rare for a double album to have the breadth and quality D.N.W.M.I.B.I.Y. has. Big Thief has breathed life into a genre we thought we knew and we should thank them for that.
  16. All_ButTrU4
    Feb 25, 2022
    9
    the feeling i got the first time i heard this is a rare one with music. the type where you can tell you're listening to a future favourite. it's a grand endeavour stacked with 2 albums worth of material with no filler.the band is at their peak as they continue to be embarrassingly good ."time escaping " is a psychedelic groove that turns the threat of mortality into a blissful certainty orthe feeling i got the first time i heard this is a rare one with music. the type where you can tell you're listening to a future favourite. it's a grand endeavour stacked with 2 albums worth of material with no filler.the band is at their peak as they continue to be embarrassingly good ."time escaping " is a psychedelic groove that turns the threat of mortality into a blissful certainty or the best song of 2021 and this album "Little things " which aches with a unmet need for intimacy. the title track is a shy love song that stands unchallenged as the lyrical centerpiece. the record ends with a excerpt of one of the members asking "where do we go from here?"
    I say if this is anything to go by even higher is the best bet.
    Big thief is a beast of emotions. from their nondescript debut "masterpiece " to their previous three album streak they've displayed an uncanny skill for rhythm in unexpected ways. This journey reaches it's most decadent on this new expansive double LP. With influences of the Beatles canonized "white album" this record passes the torch a bit brighter bereft of the fillers that punctuated the Beatles ambition. DNWMIBY is all about pushing the boundaries,having the band going places they've never gone before, such as the weird but hypnotic "blurred view" that sounds almost rnb influenced or the uncharacteristically beach house indept "wake me up to drive" that strolls without the expected pulse sewn into their songs. It's these risks that elevate this record to the level of it's contemporaries because even when they stick to their already impressive formula they strike gold such as the records first half.the opener is a simple existential acceptance of impermanence(" Death's like a door to a place we've never been before")that sees death as the answer to life's purpose. Or my new favorite "time escaping " that's imbued with a improvisational torrential energy that sent me weeping . They are some songs i could do without such as "spud infinity " grating country or "red moon" trudge. Overall I had high expectations for this already but for them to be met so well still suprised me. Potential AOTY for sure    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Best Album of 2022
56
#56 Most Discussed Album of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. musicOMH.com
    Dec 7, 2022
    90
    It’s a beautiful record to immerse yourself in and just lose track of time for a while – once its myriad charms have become apparent, you won’t want to listen to anything else.
    Read full review
  2. The Wire
    Mar 30, 2022
    80
    Adrianne Lenker’s songwriting and vocals have never been more inclusive yet forebodingly sui generis, sealing that simultaneous conviviality and strangeness that makes Big Thief’s music so addictive, and the band have got tighter and warmer from the years of touring that preceded the album’s creation. [Mar 2022, p.42]
  3. No Ripcord
    Feb 14, 2022
    90
    The result is the most compelling case in years on the potential of the journey—the insights to be gleaned, the friendships to be strengthened, your own potential waiting to be untapped. Albums like DNWMIBIY make you believe in magic again.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »