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The Broken RecordExtra
Big Thief
American indie folk band
Big Thief is an American indie folk band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2015. The line-up comprises two founding members: vocalist-guitarist Adrianne Lenker and guitarist Buck Meek.
Drummer James Krivchenia replaced founding drummer Jason Burger after the release of their debut album. Founding bassist Max Oleartchik left the band in June 2024, with Joshua Crumbly now playing bass for live performances.
members: Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik, James Krivchenia
formed in: Brooklyn
labels: Saddle Creek Records, 4AD, Weathervane Music
genres: indie folk, folk rock, indie rock, Americana, neo-psychedelia, alternative country
awards: Libera Award for Record of the Year
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
indie rockalternative rockfolk rockamericanaindie folkpsychedelic rock
The Airwaves CourierExtra
2013–2015: Early years
Adrianne Lenker met Buck Meek at a show in Boston, and after meeting him again in Brooklyn as undergraduates, the pair began performing as a duo. They toured as a duo in 2013, and released two EPs, a-sides and b-sides, in 2014. In 2015, after performing for two years and developing a small grassroots following, they began looking for additional members to accompany them, and formed the band Big Thief with drummer Jason Burger and Max Oleartchik, a bassist and longtime friend of Meek's. James Krivchenia joined the band later, originally as a sound engineer and then replacing Burger as the drummer. All four members of Big Thief attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
Pitchfork called Big Thief "rangy" folk rock. AllMusic called Big Thief's style "folk-tinged indie rock," making note of the "personal songwriting" of front woman Adrianne Lenker.
"Not" is a song by American indie rock band Big Thief, released as the first single from their fourth studio album Two Hands. It was released on August 13, 2019, by 4AD as a digital single alongside the album's announcement.
Background
Big Thief debuted the song during a concert at Point Éphémère in Paris, France on March 28, 2018. Getting the recording of the song exactly right was important to the band, and they later re-recorded it at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California.
Composition
Written by Adrianne Lenker, the song's lyrics uses negation to describe something, with Lenker repeating the use of "not" or "nor" at the beginning of each line. Bob Boilen of NPR described the song's subject as "the inability to describe what that something is, only to be able to explain what it is not."
Critical reception
The song was praised by Pitchfork, who named it Best New Track upon release and called it "a towering statement from a group constantly leapfrogging over themselves." BBC Music compared Lenker's guitar solo to that of "Neil Young at his peak." At the end of 2019, Barack Obama listed the song among his favorites of the year.
Cover versions
In November 2019, "Not" was covered by Matt Berninger, vocalist and frontman of The National, during a solo live performance at the sixth annual Dream Serenade benefit concert in Toronto.
