Indie-rock band Big Thief’s new album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, is a successful shift to an Americana style.

The LP, the group’s fifth studio album, is much warmer than previous releases. The band, known for their intense, cold, and intimate style, keep their intimacy and intensity on the new release, but become a more inviting and warm band.

Lead singer Adrianne Lenker continues her unique style of whispery, soft singing, but the instrumentation surrounding the vocals has become more pleasant and enticing.

Songs like “Time Escaping” and “Red Moon” have intense, enjoyable atmospheres that incorporate elements of folk music and Americana. These tracks have fiddles and other staple elements of folk.

Along with the new style, the songwriting on the album continues to be quality, with the lyrical intelligence of Lenker being evident.

Tracks like “Change” and “Certainty” have intense, deep, and thought-provoking lines that the band is known for.

Intensity, the group’s essential quality, is also apparent on songs like “Spud Infinity” and the title-track “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You.”

While most of the album has a cozy tone, one that invokes images of a fireplace in a log cabin, some songs do continue the band’s less welcoming style. Songs like “Blurred View” and “Dried Roses” keep the somewhat somber tone of previous celebrated albums. 

While the album is remarkable for a multitude of different reasons, one criticism of the record is the length. With the album’s runtime coming in at one hour and twenty minutes, with the tracklist consisting of 20 songs, some may find the album lengthy.

While none of the songs are simply filler, some songs do have similar tones and moods, potentially causing some songs to blur together, making the album drag at points.

Overall, while not a perfect album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You is an excellent shift to a snug, welcoming tone for Big Thief.