Big Thief’s Buck Meek on the album that impacted his life the most
Big Thief‘s sound is defined by a layer of intimacy that many other bands can only aspire to. Half of the band is comprised of former-couple Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, and although much of Big Thief’s intimacy is defined by Lenker’s beautiful songwriting, Meek’s effortless guitar playing and backing vocals certainly add their own layer to the mix.
Like many of us, Meek finds it hard to name just one album that he considers his favourite. He said: “It’s impossible for me to define my favourite album of the last 25 years – that is a fluid thing, changing all the time. Though I can say that Jolie Holland’s Catalpa had the biggest impact on me of any album in the last 25 years.”
“I first heard it during my last year of high school and knew immediately that it was a cipher, encrypting everything that I would come to love most about music,” Meek said. “Catalpa was the first album that really taught me why we write songs. About necessity, about mythology’s role in survival.”
Capalta is Jolie Holland’s debut album, released in 2003. The fascinating feature of the record is that it was recorded entirely from one of its player’s living room. The reason for this was that Holland had intended to share the songs amongst her friends, with no real initial intention of a proper release.
However, naturally given the awe-inspiring feel to its songs, the album quickly began to circulate in a wider audience. The demand for an official commercial release started to gain traction, and eventually, Anti Record signed Holland and released Catalpa to widespread critical acclaim.
Meek continued to give praise to Holland’s debut. “It taught me how to build an altar,” he said. “It taught me how to honour a friend. It taught me how to whistle and about the power of rhythm guitar (Jolie is a train). It taught me to live first and then document. It taught me that truth put to melody is all you need.”
You can really feel the intimacy on the record from the simple recording techniques. In many ways, it certainly informed the songwriting and recording of Big Thief. “You can hear the room on this album, the city,” Meek concluded. “You can feel the birds on the line, the people on the street, the time of day, the phone rings, a cough, a dog bark. Catalpa is a habitable environment. It taught me that we can live forever.”
