Slanted and Enchanted

ADRIANNE LENKER AND Buck Meek, co-guitarists for Brooklyn indie rockers Big Thief, have earned the right to be tired. In the busy lead-up to the release of their hotly anticipated fifth album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, they finally found time to jam together — and so they did, until 3 a.m., despite the day full of interviews that awaited them a few hours later.

Talking at length about the deceptively intricate guitar work they weave throughout DNWMIBIY perks them up, though, and before long we’ve cracked the Big Thief guitar code. Sort of.

“I gravitate toward the sound of open strings,” Lenker says, “even if I know I could play something without a capo with closed voicings. They inspire me. Instead of drop-D