Brooklyn’s Big Thief knows that home is where the art is.
Bathed in warm red and blue lights on Music Hall of Williamsburg’s stage Monday night, Adrienne Lenker and her band led a rapt crowd of close friends and total strangers through Big Thief’s limited but sonically vast catalog.
It’s been a pivotal year for the indie rock quartet. In June, they released their universally acclaimed sophomore LP, “Capacity,” which Pitchfork called “a complete journey.”
While many songwriters aim for solid hooks that creep their way into the listener’s subconscious, Lenker’s approach is more nuanced. Her songs haunt with clever turns of phrase and deeply personal stories mined from past trauma.
“Capacity” is a sharply produced record, with plenty of attention paid to quieter moments and Lenker’s breathy vulnerability.
But in a live setting, the arrangements took on a greater dynamic range. On “Coma,” Lenker’s delicate plea to “wake up” paired sweetly with a spidery electric guitar line that danced off the vocal melody. “Mythological Beauty” felt tastefully subdued to start, but gradually gave way to Lenker scream-singing the chorus with a ferocity not fully captured on the record.
One of Big Thief’s biggest assets is Lenker’s magnetic stage presence, which is amplified by a careful shyness and intense focus. There was no show-boating or spectacle, as Big Thief did everything in their power to focus solely on the songs. Lenker often lost herself in performance, closing her eyes for long stretches of time, drawing the crowd in even further.
For a non-acoustic performance, Music Hall of Williamsburg was shockingly quiet, an example of the audience’s deference to this captivating young band.
“It just feels so good,” Lenker giggled mid-set, clearly grateful for the audience’s response. “Wow.”
Big Thief play Music Hall of Williamsburg again Tuesday night before continuing on a North American tour through mid-October.
