In a recent interview, Big Thief talked about their plans to release a brand new double album early in 2022. That’s exciting! For now, though, Big Thief are cranking out new songs one or two at a time, and that’s pretty exciting, too. In recent months, the band has shared new jams “Little Things,” “Sparrow,” and “Certainty.” Today, they’ve dropped a lovely, quiet, ramshackle number called “Change.”

On “Change,” Adrianne Lenker sings about quietly and serenely embracing all forms of inevitable shift, including death: “Would you live forever, never die, while everything around you passes?/ Would you smile forever and never cry while everything you know passes?” She never answers the question for herself.

Musically, “Change” is a laid-back acoustic ramble, delivered with an almost impossible sense of stillness and beauty. Big Thief are a great rock band when they want to be, but “Change” is not a rock song, and it’s still great. Instead, the band finds a loose country-rock groove and hits some incandescent harmonies. If this is the kind of thing that Big Thief are getting into on this new album, then we’re really in store for something.

Big Thief apparently played “Change” at the Pitchfork Music Festival last month, but video of that performance didn’t make the rounds, the way the clip of them debuting another song did. The band has just unveiled a run of North American 2022 tour dates, to go along with the European trek that they had already announced. Below, listen to “Change” and check out those dates.

TOUR DATES:
1/31 – Lille, France @ L’Aéronef
2/01 – Paris, France @ La Cigale
2/04 – Bordeaux, France @ Rock School Barbey
2/05 – Barcelona, Spain @ Sala Apolo
2/07 – Lyon, France @ Le Transbordeur
2/08 – Strasbourg, France @ La Laiterie Artefact
2/09 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Kaufleuten
2/10 – Munich, Germany @ Cafe Muffathalle
2/12 – Prague, Czech Republic @ MeetFactory
2/13 – Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys Neue Welt
2/15 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ VEGA
2/16 – Hamburg, Germany @ Fabrik
2/18 – Cologne, Germany @ Live Music Hall
2/19 – Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque Royal
2/21 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ Tivoli Vredgenburg
2/22 – Groningen, Netherlands @ De Oosterpoort
2/24 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
2/25 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom
2/26 – Dublin, Ireland @ The National Stadium
2/27 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Bristol
3/02-04 – London, UK @ 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
4/12 – Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre
4/16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
4/18 – Montreal, QE @ L’Olympia
4/19 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
4/21 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
4/22 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom
4/23 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
4/25 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
4/26 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Pabst Theater
4/27 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
4/29 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
4/30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
5/02 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
5/03-04 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
5/07 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
5/10-11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theatre
5/12 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
5/14 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s
6/09 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound 2022
6/10-12 – Berlin, Germany @ Tempelhof Sounds