Big Thief: Double Infinity review – folk-rock perfection will restore your faith in humanity

Is love enough? It can feel twee to suggest as much in the face of so many monumental existential crises. But if anyone can restore your faith in human connection, it’s US folk-rockers Big Thief, fronted by Adrianne Lenker at her most earnest. The 34-year-old lives minute-to-minute with such intensity that it might be all too much for some listeners: “At the bridge of two infinities / What’s been lost and what lies waiting,” is how she sees her life on the title track. But whether coming to terms with ageing on Incomprehensible or reconciling with an estranged friend on Los Angeles, always in the moment whether in bed with a lover or standing under a rainswept Eiffel Tower, her poetic but unadorned lyrics are a field guide to living well.

Big Thief have contracted to a trio after the departure of bassist Max Oleartchik, but a sizeable supporting cast build these songs into big, rumpled arrangements. These nine perfect songs bristle with life, from the classic melodies to the spring water acoustic riffs to the bustling rhythm section. Ambient legend Laraaji contributes zither and percussion, and his wordless vocal expressions on Grandmother articulate everything about the joy of existence.

Walking the moody groove of No Fear, Lenker utters a mantra banishing fear, then linear time, then place: “There is nowhere / No table, no chair, no country.” You might resist Lenker’s post-national, post-historical vision. But in affirming a shared humanity and a life bigger than the boxes we make for it, she and Big Thief share lessons we all could heed.