In the past, a good opening for a review on the mostly instrumental band the Big Sleep would have been: Have you ever had that long, dark, drawn out, apocalyptic dream where you hear the bomb drop and you’re certain that you have only seconds to live? Guitars squeal and drums wallop. But there is a deep tranquility in those last seconds, preparing for the end. Appropriately, the band’s soft side is just as intense as their hard, and their songs always come from the same intimate place.
After a few listens to the New York-based band’s 2008 Frenchkiss Records release, Sleep Forever, one will begin to realize that the above description still fits. Yet there is undoubtedly growth between this and their debut.
The album opens with “Slow Race Intro,” which is one minute and twenty-one seconds of deliberate, soft strumming of an electric guitar, which resembles a segment from a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack. It is a beginning that ticks like a time bomb as you anticipate the percussive explosion. “Slow Race” does not allow immediate gratification, but eventually, it comes with a crushing thud and the repeating scream-like guitars that follow to somehow form a melodic chorus. This is what the band does best; they make you need to see them live.
From here on out, it seems they do not lose any intensity—the album builds upon itself. At times, it is hard to believe they are a three-piece. When vocals are introduced, they fit snug and feel smart rather than forced, as can be the case when instrumental bands make an attempt at singing. And maybe, herein lies the bands growth.
On “Pinkies,” guitarist Danny Barria adds an almost-hummed melody line that sinks deep into your skull while it simultaneously hides behind the droning guitars. Bassist Sonya Balchandari contributes vocals on the piano-driven “Chorus of Guitars.” The song is as beautiful as it is gloomy, and her voice seems to float alongside the precise piano. She also adds vocals to the rocking “Bad Blood.” On the album-ending title track, Barria sings, “We got our work cut out for us / There’s no place left for us to go.”
And as we began, we shall return—to the dreamy apocalyptic soundtrack that is the Big Sleep. |