Listen to Big Thief's Lovely and Delicate New Tune, "Dandelion"

Brooklyn-based indie rockers Big Thief recently released an excellent debut album in Masterpiece, but the Adrianne Lenker-led quartet are not content to rest on that laurel: the band have released a new tune today, a stripped-down, yet lush acoustic number titled “Dandelion.”

The band’s new track is live on streaming platforms, and will also see a physical release on seven-inch vinyl along with a solo version of “Masterpiece.” The recordings are available exclusively at London’s Rough Trade Records, with a limited pressing of just 500 copies. Both songs were recorded and produced by Luke Temple of Here We Go Magic, who also painted the album cover.

Explaining how the recordings came to be, Lenker said:

On tour with Here We Go Magic, our van, Bonnie, broke down in the Rocky Mountains. We really didn’t want to miss any shows. Fortunately, Here We Go kindly offered me the empty seat in their truck, and I went ahead to play two solo shows while the rest of the band fixed Bonnie.

After Luke saw the show, he had an idea to capture the simple raw form of the songs played solo. Several months later, I went out to Hudson, NY, and we filled eight cassette tapes, with one song played through a few times per 15-minute tape. It was a really relaxing way of recording. I thought we might just stuff the tapes in a shoebox in a closet and find them years later. It’s nice to record without the intention of releasing the thing you’re making.

Big Thief, a recent Best of What’s Next pick, are a band we’ll be following closely as Bonnie rolls on—the band has also announced a series of fall shows in support of another Paste favorite in Frankie Cosmos. Listen to “Dandelion” below, or stream it via Spotify here, and find Big Thief’s fall tour dates beneath the song.

Listen to Big Thief’s Lovely and Delicate New Tune, “Dandelion”