Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

In 2019, Big Thief left Saddle Creek and signed to 4AD, releasing two studio albums: U.F.O.F. in May 2019 and Two Hands in October 2019. The albums were the band's most successful and acclaimed to date: U.F.O.F. received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album and both albums appeared on the Billboard 200 chart, with Two Hands peaking at 113. Their song "Not" from Two Hands was named by many publications as one of the year's best songs and was nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Big Thief toured in support of the albums until March 2020, when their European tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drummer James Krivchenia released a solo album titled A New Found Relaxation in June 2020. In October 2020, Adrianne Lenker released two solo albums: Songs and Instrumentals. Guitarist Buck Meek released his second solo album Two Saviors in January 2021. == Recording and production ==

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You album was produced by drummer James Krivchenia, who conceived the concept behind its recording. Krivchenia's intent was to capture a full expression of Lenker's songwriting and the band onto a single album. The band recorded over the span of five months, resulting in 45 complete songs, which were ultimately edited down to the album's 20 tracks. with his vocals and fiddle performances featuring heavily throughout the Arizona Dragon New Warm Mountain recordings, marking the first time the band incorporated a fifth instrumentalist for such a substantial contribution. The album also features recordings from a fifth location, in April 2020 at The Elf Inn in Westhampton, Massachusetts. == Release and promotion ==

On April 22, 2021, Lenker announced a series of solo tour dates for November and December 2021. On May 11, 2021, Big Thief announced North American tour dates for September and October 2021. On June 8, 2021, the band announced a European tour from January–March 2022. However, the European tour dates were rescheduled. On September 7, 2021, the band released another song, titled "Certainty", followed by another, named "Change", on October 6. They also announced plans for a North American tour slated for April and May 2022. In the November 2021 issue of Mojo, Big Thief revealed plans to release a 20-track double album in early 2022. On November 16, 2021, the band confirmed the album's title Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You and scheduled release on February 11, 2022. "Time Escaping" was released as a single the same day. On December 14, 2021, Big Thief released the singles "No Reason" and "Spud Infinity". On January 19, 2022, "Simulation Swarm" was released as the album's final single. ==Title==

The album shares its name with its title track "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You", which Lenker first performed live in January 2019. The track's lyrics mention "a dragon in the phone line" and a "new warm mountain where the stone face forms and speaks". In the chorus, Lenker sings: "I believe in you / Even when you need to / Recoil". Similar lyrics also appear in Lenker's song "Anything", from her solo album Songs (2020): "Dragon in the new warm mountain / Didn't you believe in me?". == Critical reception ==

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You was released to widespread acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 88, based on 26 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". James McNair of Mojo praised the album's "admirable ambition" but criticized its lack of stylistic cohesion as being jarring at times. Some reviewers were more reserved in their praise. Marcy Donelson of AllMusic expressed reluctance to call the album "a failed experiment, as it's loaded with gems – including some of Big Thief's most free-spirited work to date", but added that "it lands much more like a showreel than a plotted album". Year-end lists At the end of 2022, Dragon New Warm Mountain... appeared on several professional lists ranking the year's best albums. In addition, "Little Things" was ranked fifteenth on Pitchforks "The 100 Best Songs of 2021" list. The song had also been awarded the Best New Track distinction in August 2021 by Pitchfork, who commented, "Big Thief perfect their natural ability to turn fleeting moments into unrestrained narrative." Accolades == Track listing ==

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Big Thief • Adrianne Lenker – vocals (all tracks), acoustic guitar (1, 3–7, 11, 12, 14–20), prepared acoustic guitar (2), brush guitar (5), nylon guitar (8), electric guitar (9, 10, 13, 17), snaps (13); engineering, mixing (15); harmonics (17), synthesizer (20), cover artwork, photographs of Meek • Buck Meek – electric guitar (1, 3, 6, 7, 9–11, 18, 20), vocals (1, 4, 13, 16, 19), prepared acoustic guitar (2), acoustic guitar (4), brush guitar (5, 16), shakers (8); acoustic 12-string guitar, snaps (13); drums (14); bass, magic box guitar (17); most photographs • James Krivchenia – production (all tracks), drums (1–4, 6–11, 13, 16–18, 20), vocals (1, 6, 13), congas (1), vocal synthesizer (2), mixing (3, 8, 11, 12, 17), bells (5, 9), brushes (5, 20); icicles, computer synthesizer (5); tambourine (7, 9, 13, 20), claps (7), synthesizer (8, 10), electronic drums (8), shakers (9, 17), computer textures (9), snaps (13), drum machine (14) • Max Oleartchik – bass (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16–18, 20), synthesizer (1), arpeggio synthesizer (2); acoustic guitar, icicles (5); tack piano (6), shakers (8), fretless bass (10); vocals, snaps (13) Additional contributors • Hannah Cohen – vocals (4) • Mat Davidson – vocals (3, 5, 11, 12, 14), fiddle (3, 11, 12), piano (5, 17); pedal steel, recorder (5); accordion (14) • Amy Dragon – vinyl mastering • Shawn Everett – engineering, additional production (2, 7, 10, 17); mixing (2, 7, 10) • Alison Fielding – layout • Richard Hardy – flute (13) • Robbie Jeffers – photographs of Meek • Heba Kadry – mastering • Noah Lenker – jaw harp (3); vocals, snaps (13), photographs of Meek • Scott McMicken – engineering, additional production (3, 11, 12, 14); mixing, percussion (14) • Dom Monks – engineering, additional production (1, 5, 9, 13, 18, 19); mixing (1, 5, 13, 18, 19) • Brett Neumann – engineering assistance (1, 5, 9, 13, 18, 19) • Sam Griffin Owens – engineering, additional production (4, 6, 8, 16, 20); mixing (4, 6, 16, 20), tambourine (4) • Andrew Sarlo – mixing (9, 17) ==Charts==