Adrianne Lenker and her Big Thief released a song in 2016 called “Masterpiece,” and it is just that (and possibly, the best indie rock song released last year). The associated album is also called Masterpiece, and it is very nearly that.

Now, Saddle Creek‘s Most Valuable Sophomores are back with their second full-length album. This one goes by Capacity, and at just over halfway through the year, Big Thief’s twisty, turny, frenetic kind of folk is finding itself on Best Of lists the music blogosphere over.

Capacity is so good that I haven’t figured out all that’s good about it yet. And here I sit during my tenth(?) listen through.

Big Thief photo by Shervin Lainez, music’s finest working portraitist. 

But eff a critic, and eff me, and listen to “Mary,” the beating heart of Capacity, for yourself:

(Or trust a great critic, like Schaeffer, who wrote about the song today.)

So this is just to say that Big Thief plays Old Rock House in St. Louis tomorrow (7/12). There are still tickets available, and we have a pair to give away courtesy of the venue. Leave a comment on the post below and we’ll randomly select a winner at 3 pm Wednesday.