''U.F.O.F.'' is the third studio album by the American band

Big Thief Big Thief is an American indie rock band with folk roots based in Brooklyn, New York. Its members are Adrianne Lenker (guitar, vocals), Buck Meek (guitar, backing vocals), Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums). The band's deb ...

, released through

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...

on May 3, 2019. The album was recorded in June 2018 at

Bear Creek Studio Bear Creek Studio is a residential recording studio located in Woodinville, Washington, situated in a barn on a 10 acre farm. Known for its "rural farmhouse" location, a number of artists have recorded at the studio, including: Brandi Carlile, ...

, a secluded studio with lush nature surroundings in

Woodinville, Washington Woodinville is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a part of the Seattle metropolitan area. There is also a much larger population with Woodinville mailing addresses in adjacent unincorporated areas of King ( Cottage Lake) and ...

. The songs "From" and "Terminal Paradise" previously appeared in a different form on

Adrianne Lenker Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker (born July 9, 1991) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of Big Thief. Early life Lenker was born in Indianapolis and was raised in a Christian cult until the ag ...

's 2018 solo album ''

Abysskiss ''Abysskiss'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the third solo studio album by Adrianne Lenker, released through Saddle Creek Records on October 5, 2018. The album was recorded at Panoramic Studio in West Marin, California with Luke Temple and Gab ...

''. The title initials stand for "UFO friend", according to lyrics in the title track. The album received acclaim from music critics and was nominated for

Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

at the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...

. Five months after the album's release, Big Thief released their fourth studio album, '' Two Hands''. Described as the "earth twin" to ''U.F.O.F.'', it was recorded at

Sonic Ranch Sonic Ranch, in the border town of Tornillo, Texas, is the world's largest residential recording studio complex. There are five studios designed by Vincent Van Haaff on a pecan orchard, which borders the Rio Grande and Mexico. Located east of ...

in the

Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lowe ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

days after the band completed recording for ''U.F.O.F.'' in Washington.

Critical reception

''U.F.O.F.'' received critical acclaim upon release. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses a normalized rating from music critics, the album holds a score of 87 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The album was named "Best New Music" by

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

, with a score of 9.2/10 and the website calling the album the band's "undoubtedly best" and "a mesmerizing flood of life filtered down into a concentrated drip." In 2020,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

listed ''U.F.O.F.'' as one of the best albums of 2010s.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

. ;Big Thief *

– acoustic guitar (1–7, 9, 10), electric guitar (1, 5, 8, 9, 11), vocals (all tracks), choir (2, 4, 5, 8), SK5 (2, 10), piano (3), chimes (5), breath (8), percussion (8), ambience (12) *

Buck Meek Buck Meek (born Alexander Buckley Meek, July 10, 1987) is an American musician from Wimberley, Texas, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of Big Thief. Early life Meek was raised in Texas and was introduced to the guitar at a you ...

– electric guitar (1–5, 7–10), clap (4), choir (4), vocals (7, 10), feedback (11), ambience (12) * James Krivchenia – drums (1–5, 7–11), percussion (2), choir (2, 4, 5), SK5 (2), magic box (4, 5, 8), chimes (5), breath (8),

Moog Moog may refer to: Electronics and computing * Moog synthesizer, a synthesizer invented by Robert Moog * Moog Music, a synthesizer manufacturer founded by Robert Moog * Moog (code), astronomical software * Moog Inc., a control-system maker People ...

(8), tambourine (9), vocals (11), drum fill (12), ambience (12) * Max Oleartchik – bass (1, 2, 4, 5, 7–12), bass drone (1–3, 8, 10), choir (2, 4), piano (3), bells (4), breath (8), shaker (8), ambience (12) ;Additional musicians * Zoë Lenker – choir (4) * Andrew Sarlo – wind (9), ambience (12) * Dom Monks – ambience (12) ;Technical * Dom Monks – engineering, mixing * Andrew Sarlo – production *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bish ...

– mastering * Taylor Carroll – assistant engineering, "studio brain" ;Artwork * Dustin Condren – cover photography * Sarah Schiesser – design, layout * Alison Fielding – production design

Charts

References

{{Authority control 4AD albums 2019 albums Big Thief albums Albums recorded at Bear Creek Studio Dream pop albums by American artists Art rock albums by American artists