Last August, Buck Meek shared his third studio album, Haunted Mountain. Now, the Big Thief member is back with two new singles from the Haunted Mountain sessions: “Cuero Dudes” and “Beauty Opens Doors.”
Capturing the same warmth as the songs on Haunted Mountain, the two new singles show off Buck Meek’s songwriting versatility. “Cuero Dudes,” for example, is actually a reworking of the Haunted Mountain track “Cyclades,” featuring new lyrics, or “stories,” and a slightly adapted arrangement (with a tastefully noisy, feedback-driven guitar solo as the cherry on top).
“Beauty Opens Doors,” meanwhile, has an open arrangement featuring clicking percussion, a flowing soundscape of synths and strings, and — as so-wonderfully highlighted throughout Haunted Mountain — dreamy pedal steel guitar lines. According to the singles’ press material, the song was first recorded during the Haunted Mountain sessions and became a tune that Meek “truly loved,” but it “simply didn’t fit the album.” Now, it arrives into the world, along with a music video for “Cuero Dudes.” Check both out below.
Haunted Mountains was first announced last May, with two singles arriving over the summer: the title track and the aforementioned tune, “Cyclades.” The full album dropped on August 25th, 2023, and featured a tracklist of songs Meek co-wrote with songwriter and “longtime musical hero,” Jolie Holland.
In support of his new releases, Meek is gearing up to embark on a North American tour later this month, kicking off with a performance in San Diego, California, on January 17th. After that, he’ll bop around the continent, stopping in cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Toronto, Chicago, and more. Grab tickets for his upcoming shows here.
Meanwhile, Meek’s band, Big Thief, recently reissued their 2016 debut album, Masterpiece. Last year, they shared two new singles: “Vampire Empire” and “Born for Loving You,” which arrived as a 7-inch vinyl single in October.
In December, Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker shared a new solo song of her own, “Ruined,” and confirmed that both a new album and a run of European shows are slated for this year.