Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker Performs Sublime ‘Anything’ on ‘Colbert’

Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker performed her solo track “Anything” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Tuesday, January 26th.

The clip finds Lenker performing outdoors, sun radiating in the background as she finger-picks her way through the track. On the studio version of “Anything,” Lenker’s playing is assisted by a paint brush, which adds a dreamy hush to the notes; but here, her barebones playing underpins the aching lyrics with a more tender edge: “I don’t wanna talk about anyone,” Lenker sings, “I don’t wanna talk about anyone/I wanna sleep in your car while you’rе driving/Lay in your lap when I’m crying.”

“Anything” appears on Lenker’s solo album, Songs, which arrived last October alongside another project, Instrumentals, both of which she made in quarantine. The records marked Lenker’s first solo efforts since 2018’s Abysskiss, while they also followed Big Thief’s two acclaimed 2019 albums U.F.O.F. and Two Hands.

Last year, U.F.O.F. was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the Grammys, while this year the band’s Two Hands track, “Not,” is up for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.