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December 14, 2004
Big Business is big letdown
With ex-members of Karp and the Murder City Devils, Big Business’ upcoming release Head for the Shallow left my head feeling pummeled.
Having little to no melodic vocal parts may have worked for the lead singer of the famed Washington-based Murder City Devils, but the effect is not the same when juxtaposed with the fierce drum beats of Big Business.
The CD opens with a duo whistling an enchanting melody that almost makes you feel as if your head is spinning, but after this brief appearance of melodic intonation, there will be none for the rest of the disc.
The 35 minutes of music, composed of eight different tracks, is heavily driven by the drumming of Coady Willis.
While listening to the album, I was reminded of the horrible acoustics of garage band shows from my days back in high school č too much percussion and scratchy vocals.
Big Business also features vocals that are reminiscent of Metallica and other eighties metal hair bands.
Altogether, Big Business has created a sound that I cannot shake from my mind hours after listening to the CD.
And this isn’t a good thing. It’s like when my ears start ringing and I wait, annoyed, until they finally stop and I can go on with my day.
Though my praise of this album is minimal, I at least found solace in one track: the fourth offering, “Stareadactyl.”
In this piece of pounding post-punk, the lyrics are catchy: “Keep with your digging, we’re looking for fossils, hopefully someday we’ll find the apostle.”
This track was my favorite maybe just because it was reminiscent of the Murder City Devils.
The album is soon to be released on Hydra Head Records, and the band is currently on tour.
If you’re interested in seeing them play live, you’re out of luck, at least for a little while. The group just played at the Triple Rock Social Club this past Saturday. But it’s likely they’ll be back before too long, touring in support of the album’s release.
I have heard that the live show is better than listening straight through the album.
So if you’re up for it then by all means go check them out when they’re back in town.
Posted by msveum at December 14, 2004 10:51 AM