★★★★

From the lo-fi fuzz of opening track ‘Little Arrow’, Big Thief’s debut clearly marks the descent into its sweetly perturbed depths.

The world of Masterpiece is emotionally charged and deceptively complex for indie rock these days, but never melodramatic. It’s an honest and disarming account of the pain that comes with the gradual erosion of innocence and love.

There’s no doubt Adrianne Lenker and company are incredibly talented, and it’s the musical content that really acts as the frame that encompasses Lenker’s beautifully brutal tales. ‘Real Love’ is the track that perhaps best exemplifies the album as a whole. As a raw lament on the continuous circle of violent, volatile relationships, it juxtaposes an early example of feuding parents and an onslaught of horrible experiences that rust hardened layers around a sensitive heart.

The guitars swell continuously like an aching blister, ascending from tragic twang to hot, stingingly angry thrashes – but it never gives the satisfaction of bursting, providing no relief to the uncomfortable bitterness. This artistic direction is both the point and the problem with the album and it can feel hopelessly paralysing. If you’re brave enough, Masterpiece will leave you soberingly tender.

Masterpiece may not be what you want, but it’s good at what it does.

Big Thief’sMasterpieceis out now on Spunk.

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