In March, Big Thief stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to debut a song they had been playing live at shows: “Vampire Empire.” Now, on Wednesday, July 19th, the band has released the official studio version of the single. Listen to the track below.
“Vampire Empire” has been a hit among Big Thief fans since videos of the live version began circulating online, partly due to the tune’s lyrics, which speak to the complications of gender expression and queer identity in the context of a relationship. In a statement, vocalist Adrianne Lenker said: “For me, it’s about getting out of toxic internal patterns — leaving the empire of energy drains that obscure pure essence, learning about what healthy boundaries are, and finding the power to implement them for the possibility of giving and receiving (both inwardly and outwardly) unbroken and infinite Love.”
Accordingly, Lenker’s impassioned vocals convey a sense of searching. Analyzing her circumstance with a flow akin to a mid-’60s Bob Dylan (who collaborated with Big Thief’s Buck Meek on his recent movie, Shadow Kingdom), she seems to summarize her dissatisfaction with piercing clarity. But returning to her attraction, she demonstrates how hard it can be to reconcile your rational thoughts with your feelings, crying out “I wanted to be your woman, I wanted to be your man/ I wanted to be the one that you could understand.” It’s not entirely clear if Lenker is really speaking to someone else, or another side of herself, but either way, it makes sense that so many Big Thief fans have connected with the song and called for its official release.
Now, the official release has arrived, and on October 20th, Big Thief will even drop a special 7” featuring the song via 4AD. The 7” will also include the B-Side, “Born for Loving You,” another unreleased song the band has been playing live recently.
If you’d like a chance to hear “Born for Loving You” before the studio version arrives, Big Thief’s tour — featuring co-headlining dates with Lucinda Williams — is ongoing. The tour is in support of their 2022 album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You. Check out the full list of dates, and grab your tickets here.
