24 April 2026 (gig)
37 min
Big Thief’s second night of their four-show residency at Brixton Academy felt like a quiet statement of intent as the Brooklyn four-piece picked intimacy over spectacle, and like most Big Thief shows, risk over routine.
Even before a note was played the stage was deliberately understated, small, closed-in, almost modest to the point of shrinking the vast room, with soft, undramatic lighting that avoided any sense of arena grandeur.
In a space that often swallows artists whole, Big Thief chose to pull everything inward. In doing so, they echoed the residency model embraced by LCD Soundsystem who continue to choose a run of smaller venues, such as Brixton, instead of soulless arenas.
The band opened in quintessential Big Thief fashion in the form of a surprise new, unreleased track that immediately hushed the crowd into careful attention. It was a bold move, but one that paid off as it bled seamlessly into a run of classics “Certainty,” “Masterpiece,” and “Not”; a triple punch that grounded the unfamiliar in something deeply beloved. “Masterpiece,” featuring support act and brother of guitarist Buck Meek, Dylan, carried a looseness that felt unique to the residency format, as if the band were allowing songs to stretch and breathe differently each night.
The middle of the set drifted into more exploratory territory. “Pterodactyl” and “Terminal Paradise” leaned into fragility, while Adrianne Lenker’s solo material “Real House” and “Terminal Paradise”, gave the evening a reflective feel. There was a sense of the band trusting the audience to follow wherever they wandered, even with notable omissions like “Vampire Empire.”
The arrival of multi-instrumentalist and long-time collaborator Laraaji elevated the final stretch, with his contributions to “Where Will We Go,” “Words,” and “No Fear” adding a shimmering, meditative quality.
By the encore, “Spud Infinity” felt less like a closing number and more like a celebration of the collaborative spirit that had defined the night in what comes at a time when Big Thief are a band at the height of their powers. With multiple guests on stage, it captured the essence of what has made this residency special: fluid, generous, and gloriously alive
