Big Thief's 'Mary' Is A Meditation On Resilience And Recovery
"First it sounds and then it means," Adrianne Lenker tells NPR of the piano ballad. "That song feels like crying and laughing at the same time."
All the songs on , the upcoming album from , are guitar songs — save for one. Instead of Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek's wiry guitar arrangements, "Mary" pairs a hallowing piano and organ with the closeness of Lenker's consoling voice. It's hard to imagine any other arrangement sounding this fitting. Recorded in one take with Mat Davidson from Twain on piano, "Mary" is a song that so flawlessly captures an ineffable, deeply personal experience of the world that it becomes universal. It is the sound of snow piling
