Two Hands (Big Thief album)

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][14][15][16][17] It was preceded by the singles "Not" and "Forgotten Eyes".

Two Hands
Studio album by Big Thief
Released	October 11, 2019
Recorded	July 2018 April 2019[lower-alpha 1]
Studio	Sonic Ranch, Tornillo, Texas Sound City, Los Angeles, California[lower-alpha 1]
Genre	Indie rock[1] grunge-folk[2]
Length	39:36
Label	4AD
Producer	Andrew Sarlo
Big Thief chronology
U.F.O.F. (2019) Two Hands (2019)
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[3]
Metacritic	85/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Consequence of Sound	A−[5]
The Guardian	[2]
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. Two Hands was recorded at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas and produced by the Andrew Sarlo, who has produced every Big Thief album.[18][19][20] Compared to the lush nature setting of Bear Creek,[21] 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.[22]

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."[22]

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".[23] 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."[24]

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.[25]

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

Track listing

All tracks are written by Adrianne Lenker, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Rock and Sing"	2:03
2.	"Forgotten Eyes"	3:31
3.	"The Toy"	4:16
4.	"Two Hands"	3:52
5.	"Those Girls"	3:22
6.	"Shoulders"	3:13
7.	"Not"	6:07
8.	"Wolf"	4:42
9.	"Replaced" (Lenker, Buck Meek)	4:54
10.	"Cut My Hair"	3:36
Total length:		39:36

Personnel

Big Thief

• Adrianne Lenker – guitar, vocals
• Buck Meek – guitar, vocals (3–5, 9)
• Max Oleartchik – bass, 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, 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
• Joseph Lorge – assistance

Artwork

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

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[27]	99
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28]	20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29]	119
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[30]	59
Irish Albums (IRMA)[31]	78
Scottish Albums (OCC)[32]	8
UK Albums (OCC)[33]	34
US Billboard 200[34]	113

Notes

1. Except "Replaced", recorded February 2019 at the Topanga, California Demo Cabin.

References

1. Donelson, Marcy. "Two Hands – Big Thief". AllMusic. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
2. Cliff, Aimee (October 11, 2019). "Big Thief: Two Hands review – powerful and gritty grunge folk". The Guardian. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
3. "Two Hands by Big Thief reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
4. "Two Hands by Big Thief Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
5. Sackllah, David (October 9, 2019). "Big Thief Strike Again with the Captivating Two Hands". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
6. O'Connor, Roisin (October 11, 2019). "Big Thief review, Two Hands: It's astonishing just how alive this album feels". The Independent. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
7. Segal, Victoria (November 2019). "Big Thief: Two Hands". Mojo (312): 90.
8. Mongredien, Phil (October 13, 2019). "Big Thief: Two Hands review – a more earthbound follow-up to UFOF". The Observer. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
9. Sodomsky, Sam (October 11, 2019). "Big Thief: Two Hands". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
10. Aroesti, Rachel (November 2019). "Big Thief: Two Hands". Q (404): 108.
11. "Quick Hits". Rolling Stone (1333). November 2019.
12. Watts, Peter (November 2019). "Big Thief: Two Hands". Uncut (270): 22.
13. Aswad, Jem (August 13, 2019). "Big Thief to Release 'Two Hands', Their Second Album of 2019, in October".
14. "Big Thief Announce New Album 'Two Hands': Hear "Not"". August 13, 2019.
15. "Big Thief Announce New Album Two Hands, Drop New Song "Not": Listen". Pitchfork.
16. Martoccio, Angie (August 13, 2019). "Big Thief Drop New Single 'Not,' Detail Second 2019 LP 'Two Hands'".
17. "Big Thief Announce New Album 'Two Hands,' Release "Not"". August 13, 2019.
18. "Big Thief Announce Another New Album, Release Lead Single "Not"". pastemagazine.com.
19. "Big Thief announce second album of the year with lead single "Not"". The Line of Best Fit.
20. Roberts, Christopher. "Big Thief Announce Second New Album of 2019, Share New Song "Not"". undertheradarmag.com.
21. "Bear Creek Studio alumnus stars in centerpiece film at SIFF". The Woodinville Weekly.
22. "The official website for independent record label 4AD". 4AD.
23. Aubrey, Elizabeth (August 13, 2019). "Big Thief announce new album, tour and share emotive new single, 'Not'". NME.
24. "Listen to "Not" by Big Thief" – via pitchfork.com.
25. "Big Thief Share New Song "Forgotten Eyes": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
26. "The 10 Best Albums of 2019". Spin. 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
27. "ARIA Chart Watch #547". auspOp. October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
28. "Ultratop.be – Big Thief – Two Hands" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
29. "Ultratop.be – Big Thief – Two Hands" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
30. "Dutchcharts.nl – Big Thief – Two Hands" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
31. "Irish Albums Chart: 18 October 2019". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
32. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
33. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
34. "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (3/3)". Billboard on Twitter. Retrieved October 22, 2019.