Big | Brave, now there's a fucking
band. A group who came out of seemingly nowhere a few years ago have
now become favorites in the Roadburn set. Their latest record Ardor
only adds to their long legacy
of hypnotic and deeply emotional music that ebbs and flows its way
across the vinyl, bringing in minimalist arrangements with touches of
violin and a massive fucking bass guitar. The laid back and
surrealistic roar of a song like Lull is strangely soothing, forcing
you to wrap your head around some weird psychedelic dreamscapes but
also remaining firmly grounded in that gnarly ass bottom end that
defines the groups history.
This is certainly a
challenging listen, three long form songs, all of which feature faded
out Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas style vocals and monochromatic
vibes that force you to really spend time with the record to
understand it. There is something incredibly delicate about the
frontwomans performance here and the balance of this with the force
of nature that is the rhythm section will leave you in complete awe.
The dark and light that defines Big | Brave's sound is delicious and
addictive. It encourages you to return to the record time and time
again, increasingly enamored by an album that can't help but to
charm.
I
invite you to join me in getting lost in this record. The emotional
might of these tracks is hard to wrap your head around and they
clearly represent an immense travail. Considering how productive the
band is, this being their third record since 2014 it rapidly becomes
clear how much time the band invests into their music. It's always
nice when a group with this sort of vision comes crawling across my
desk, demanding me to pay attention and leaving me in total awe of
what unfolded before me. Ardor is
a masterpiece to say the least and it's a pleasure to pick it apart.
Find them on Facebook!
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