\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div> \t\t\t\t\tBig Thief debuted their new album \u2018Horsepower\u2019 during a guest-heavy concert at Nashville\u2019s Ryman Auditorium. Photo: Genesis B\u00e1ez*<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tShe wasn\u2019t wrong. As she played the first song solo on acoustic guitar and slowly welcomed more and more players to the stage, it felt like a culminating moment for a band that has always integrated folk and country influences into their unique corner of indie rock. Here are our five takeaways during this special night with Big Thief.<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\tThough the band didn\u2019t explicitly name all of the 29 songs that will appear on Horsepower<\/em> as they played them, many are not completely new to fans. Songs like the title track, \u201cHappiness,\u201d \u201cBaby Honey Sweet Darlin,\u201d \u201cSpatchcock Chickenshit Bingo,\u201d and \u201cMuscle Memory\u201d have been performed live onstage before, and another, \u201cSadness Is a Gift,\u201d was previously recorded on Lenker\u2019s solo album, Bright Future.<\/a><\/em> In fact, almost two-thirds of Horsepower<\/em> has already been debuted on the road, often in much different configurations.\u00a0One (known initially as \u201cBloom\u201d and now \u201c21\u201d) was even the first song, Lenker said, that she and Meek wrote together.<\/p>\n \n\tIt was DeMent who first took the stage to join the band, which makes sense with their origin story. \u201cWhen Buck and I first met, we bonded over Iris DeMent<\/a>,\u201d Lenker once told Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a deep part of us.\u201d Welch joined next, picking up the acoustic guitar and banjo, and Williams came to the stage for the very last two songs. Lenker, DeMent, Welch, and Willaims\u2019 voices all made for perfect folk harmonies, and DeMent, in particular, looked like she was having an absolute blast, clapping and dancing in her seat the entire time \u2014 only stopping to give Lenker, who admitted to being nervous, a rub or two on the back.<\/p>\n \t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\tIn addition to Big Thief\u2019s core unit, as well as DeMent, Williams, and Welch, the band was joined by a renowned cast of session players and instrumentalists that helped Horsepower\u2019s<\/em> sound reach rich, dynamic heights: Greg Leisz and Russ Pahl on steel and guitar, with Zosha Warpeha, Richard Bowden, and Hannah Read as a three-piece fiddle section. Recorded in Nashville, it\u2019s certainly some of the twangiest sounding work they\u2019ve done, but the influences are incredibly varied: you can hear echoes of Gram Parson, Joni Mitchell, John Prine, Rodney Crowell, even a little Paul Simon and Radiohead. And, of course, Williams, DeMent, and Welch. It\u2019s also extremely rich in narrative storytelling. There are a lot of on-the-road songs about travels through this strange, heartbreaking, and beautiful planet.<\/p>\n \t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Genesis B\u00e1ez<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\t\u201cThis fucked up world, why must everything be conquered,\u201d Lenker asked on \u201cBeautiful World.\u201d But it\u2019s clear she doesn\u2019t see wallowing in misery as any sort of serviceable way to cope. Happiness is a recurrent theme here, as is love (Lenker dedicated \u201c6-7-8-9 She\u2019s Fine\u201d to her girlfriend), as is finding ways to feel joy and even silliness in the madness. On the delightful silly \u201cSpatchcock Chickenshit Bingo\u201d Lenker offers a laundry list of little ways to do so: \u201cPut your pants on backwards\/Walk to the store like that.\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s probably the first Big Thief song that could ever lend itself to a TikTok dance. Lenker told the audience that the last song of the night, \u201cGift Pleasure Joy,\u201d was written in the studio, while they were recording, about the process itself. \u201cWhat a gift, what a pleasure, what a joy,\u201d she sang, finally getting up from her seat for the only time of the evening. It seemed clear the band wanted fans to leave with a way to find their own gifts, pleasure, and joy.<\/p>\n \n\tThere were multiple cameras documenting the entire night for a concert film to be aired at a later date \u2014\u00a0details are yet to be revealed. We also don\u2019t know when the album will be released or officially announced. We do know that the band plans to do the entire thing again on Sunday night in Nashville, possibly with some of the same special guests. So if you want to see another iteration of this unique performance, there\u2019s still a little time to hop a plane to Nashville.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n\t\tMost of the songs on Horsepower<\/em> have been in the Big Thief universe for a few years, if not much longer.\t<\/h2>\n
\n\t\tIris DeMent, Gillian Welch, and Lucinda Williams\u2019 voices are a big part of the album\u2019s sound.\t<\/h2>\n
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\n\t\tIt\u2019s some of the twangiest-sounding arrangements Big Thief have created yet, but it\u2019s not just limited to that.\t<\/h2>\n
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<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\t\tBig Thief are thinking a lot about how to be happy in this difficult world.\t<\/h2>\n
\n\t\tThere will eventually be a film of the Ryman experience.\t<\/h2>\n