music.wikisort.org - Composition

Two Hands is the fourth studio album by the American band Big Thief, released through 4AD on October 11, 2019. The album comes five months after the release of the band's third studio album, U.F.O.F., and is described as its "earth twin".[13] It was preceded by the singles "Not" and "Forgotten Eyes".

Two Hands
Studio album by Big Thief
Released	October 11, 2019 (2019-10-11)
Recorded	July 2018 February 2019 April 2019
Studio	Sonic Ranch, Tornillo, Texas Demo Cabin, Topanga, California Sound City, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Indie rock grunge-folk shoegaze
Length	39:36
Label	4AD
Producer	Andrew Sarlo
Big Thief chronology
U.F.O.F. (2019) Two Hands (2019) Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (2022)
Singles from Two Hands
"Not" Released: August 13, 2019 "Forgotten Eyes" Released: October 2, 2019

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.3/10[1]
Metacritic	85/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Consequence of Sound	A−[4]
The Guardian	[5]
The Independent	[6]
Mojo	[7]
The Observer	[8]
Pitchfork	9.0/10[9]
Q	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Uncut	8/10[12]

Background and recording

Recording for Two Hands began only days after the band completed recording their third studio album, U.F.O.F., at Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, Washington.[14] Two Hands was recorded primarily at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas in July 2018.[15] It was produced by Andrew Sarlo,[16] who had since produced every album by Big Thief.[17] Compared to the lush nature setting of Bear Creek,[18] Sonic Ranch is located in the dry, hot Chihuahuan Desert of Texas. The album's press release indicated the studio was chosen purposely for its "vast desert location", with the songs reflecting its influence. The songs were recorded live with almost no overdubs and all but two songs feature entirely live vocal takes.[19] The album was mixed by Sarlo and drummer James Krivchenia at Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, New York in October 2018; and at Sarlo's Cabin and Sound City in Los Angeles in April 2019.[15]

The band decided to scrap the Sonic Ranch recording of "Not" because they "felt it needed openness."[20] "Not" was re-recorded at Sound City Studios in April 2019.[15] It was captured live on the first take.[20]

"Replaced", co-written by Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, appears on the album in its original demo recording.[20] The demo was recorded in a cabin in Topanga Canyon in February 2019.[15]

Music and lyrics

In the album's press release, Adrianne Lenker said, "Two Hands has the songs that I'm the most proud of; I can imagine myself singing them when I'm old. Musically and lyrically, you can't break it down much further than this. It's already bare-bones."[19]

Composition

Two Hands sees Big Thief take on "powerful and gritty" grunge-folk.[5] It also works in indie rock, yielding a "crisper [and] more jagged" sound than that of U.F.O.F.[3]

Slant saw the music as shoegazing that had 1960s / '70s folk and rock filtered through it.[21]

Release and promotion

In early August, some fans who had purchased U.F.O.F. on vinyl from the 4AD website received an unmarked 7" record in the mail. It contained two songs that were later revealed to be the title track "Two Hands" and "Love In Mine", a track appearing on the Japanese version of the album. The 7" had "10/11/19" etched into it, alluding to the release date.

The album was announced on August 13, 2019 alongside the release of its first single, "Not".[22] Upon release, the song was awarded the "Best New Track" distinction by Pitchfork, with Quinn Moreland calling it "a towering statement from a group constantly leapfrogging over themselves."[23]

On the August 19, 2019 the band performed Two Hands in full during an intimate show at London's Bush Hall.

A second song from the album, "Forgotten Eyes", was released on 2 October 2019.[24]

"Not" was nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[25]

In December 2019, Spin named Two Hands as the best album of 2019 in its annual critic's picks.[26]

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[15]

Big Thief

• Adrianne Lenker – guitar (all tracks), vocals (all tracks)
• Buck Meek – guitar (all tracks), vocals (3–5, 9)
• Max Oleartchik – bass (all tracks), vocals (1), percussion (3)
• James Krivchenia – drums (1–7, 9, 10), vocals (1, 7), percussion (4), mallets (7), cymbal (8)

Technical personnel

• Andrew Sarlo – production (all tracks), mixing (3, 4, 6–9), engineering (7)
• Dom Monks – engineering (1–6, 8, 10)
• James Krivchenia – mixing (1–6, 8–10), engineering (9)
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Todd Carder – tape liaison
• Keith Nelson – tape liaison
• Sam Griffin Owens – tape liaison
• Mario Ramirez – assistance (Sonic Ranch)
• Joseph Lorge – assistance (Sound City)

Artwork

• Dustin Condren – cover photography
• Sarah Schiesser – design, layout

In popular culture

The album's title track was featured in the fourth episode of the HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown (2021).[27]

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28]	99
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29]	20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30]	119
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31]	59
Irish Albums (IRMA)[32]	78
Scottish Albums (OCC)[33]	8
UK Albums (OCC)[34]	34
US Billboard 200[35]	113

References

---