Deeply emotional songwriting is not new for Big Thief frontwoman Adrianne Lenker. The band's debut record, 2016's Masterpiece, consisted of a number of character portraits that felt deeply intimate and informed by residual images from childhood.
Capacity delves into similar dark territory, with issues of family history and trauma running throughout the collection. Lenker's voice, as well as intricate guitar parts from Buck Meek, accompany the bleak undercurrents with a world-weary attitude and acceptance, but a sense of uplift remains audible amidst the tumult. As Lenker sings on Capacity's "Great White Shark," "for in the dark, there is release."
Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, Big Thief performed four tracks from their sophomore album.
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