Capacity
Studio album by
Big Thief
ReleasedJune 9, 2017 (2017-06-09)
Studio
  • Outlier Inn Recording (Woodridge, New York)
  • Figure 8 Recording (Brooklyn)
  • Lethe Lounge (New York City)
  • Black Lodge Recording (Brooklyn)[a]
Genre
Length41:40
LabelSaddle Creek
ProducerAndrew Sarlo
Big Thief chronology
Masterpiece
(2016) 		Capacity
(2017) 		U.F.O.F.
(2019)
Singles from Capacity
  1. "Mythological Beauty"
    Released: April 22, 2017 (2017-04-22)
  2. "Shark Smile"
    Released: May 8, 2017 (2017-05-08)

Capacity is the second studio album by the American band Big Thief, released through Saddle Creek Records on June 9, 2017.[5]

Cover artwork

The album's cover features a photograph of Lenker's uncle holding her as a newborn.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[7]
Metacritic81/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The A.V. ClubB[10]
Consequence of SoundB[11]
Exclaim!9/10[12]
Mojo[13]
Pitchfork8.3/10[2]
Rolling Stone[14]
The Skinny[15]
Uncut8/10[3]
ViceB+[16]

Capacity received critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album has received an average score of 81, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 15 reviews.[8]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank Ref
The Alternative The Alternative's Top 50 Albums of 2017 10 [17]
BrooklynVegan BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2017 13 [18]
Flood Magazine The Best Albums of 2017 1 [19]
NPR The 50 Best Albums of 2017 3 [20]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2017 23 [21]
Rough Trade Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2017 4 [22]
The Skinny The Skinny's Top 50 Albums of 2017 12 [23]
Spin 50 Best Albums of 2017 2 [24]
Vinyl Me, Please The Best Albums of 2017 8 [25]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Adrianne Lenker, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Pretty Things"3:05
2."Shark Smile"4:00
3."Capacity"3:52
4."Watering" (Adrianne Lenker, Zoë Lenker)3:22
5."Coma"3:40
6."Great White Shark"3:23
7."Mythological Beauty"5:06
8."Objects"2:43
9."Haley"3:33
10."Mary"5:30
11."Black Diamonds"3:35
Total length:41:40

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[26]

Big Thief

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Artwork

Notes

  1. ^ Additional overdubs recorded at Black Lodge Recording in Brooklyn, New York

References

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (June 6, 2017). "Album Of The Week: Big Thief Capacity". Stereogum. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Moreland, Quinn (June 9, 2017). "Big Thief: Capacity". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Watts, Peter (July 4, 2017). "Big Thief – Capacity". Uncut. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  4. ^ Kok, Dan (July 26, 2017). "Big Thief: Capacity". PopMatters. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "Capacity". Saddle Creek Records. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  6. ^ Zoladz, Lindsay (April 30, 2019). "The Big Themes and Big Dreams of Big Thief". The Ringer (website). Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "Capacity by Big Thief reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Reviews and Tracks for Capacity by Big Thief". Metacritic. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  9. ^ Donelson, Marcy. "Capacity – Big Thief". AllMusic. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  10. ^ Terry, Josh (June 9, 2017). "Big Thief offers its rawest, most personal record yet with Capacity". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  11. ^ Flynn, Katherine (June 6, 2017). "Big Thief – Capacity". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  12. ^ Lindsay, Cam (June 7, 2017). "Big Thief: Capacity". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  13. ^ "Big Thief: Capacity". Mojo (284): 96. July 2017.
  14. ^ Hermes, Will (June 21, 2017). "Review: Big Thief's 'Capacity' Is a Raw Folk-Rock Gem". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  15. ^ Ogden, Chris (June 5, 2017). "Big Thief – Capacity". The Skinny. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  16. ^ Christgau, Robert (November 4, 2017). "Robert Christgau on the Grown-Up Feelings of A. Savage and Big Thief". Vice. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  17. ^ "The Alternative's Top 50 Albums of 2017 - The Alternative". The Alternative. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  18. ^ "BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2017". BrooklynVegan. December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  19. ^ "The Best Albums of 2017". FLOOD. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  20. ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2017 (10-1)". NPR.org. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  21. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2017 | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  22. ^ "Capacity". Rough Trade. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  23. ^ "The Skinny's Top 50 Albums of 2017". Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  24. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2017". Spin. December 18, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  25. ^ "The Best Albums Of 2017". Vinyl Me Please. December 20, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  26. ^ Capacity (liner notes). Big Thief. Saddle Creek. 2017. LBJ-255.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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