The NewMusic First Spin: The Big Pink
September 17th, 2009
The UK used to be a hub for buzz bands, but not since Ting Tings a couple years ago has there been an artist as hyped as The Big Pink (that I’ve paid attention to, of course).
Comprised of Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze, the London duo caused an instantaneous stir with their expansive sound, a marriage of fluttering guitar textures with rolling drumbeats and hooks as simple and enduring as your average Oasis hit.
Rising up out of their city’s underground music scene, the two already had experience under their belts: Cordell founded the tastemaking label Merok, which launched the careers of Klaxons, Crystal Castles and The Teenagers, and Furze played guitar for Atari Teenage Riot main dude Alec Empire.
The Big Pink released their debut single “Too Young To Love” last October, which not only drew mouth-watering raves from international press, but also a record deal with the idyllic 4AD label.
Following two more singles comes A Brief History of Love, the highly anticipated full-length. Opening with rainfall guitars, “Crystal Visions” exudes the sparkling imagery of its title; with its baggy percussion, it recalls a more modern spin on what the Stone Roses started back in ‘89.
The snapping rhythm and dazed melodies of a re-recorded “Too Young To Love” immediately announces the vastness of The Big Pink’s sonic prowess, which then blasts into the sing-along silliness of the breezy “Dominos”, their best shot at a hit single.
Meanwhile, “At War With The Sun” uses the same washing guitars and synths as the latest Horrors LP, and “Frisk” explores aims big with the type of hefty dance rock that made Kasabian stars.
But it’s second single “Velvet”, that acts as both the centerpiece and the emotional anchor of the album, with Furze delivering a longing vocal balanced by the heavy layers of shoegazing guitars.
Where A Brief History of Love stands apart from almost any other record is in its ability to sit comfortably in between the artistic and the commercial boundaries. It’s an album that can please both the pickiest hipsters and the daftest meatheads, and that’s not an easy thing to do.
Artist: The Big Pink
Album: A Brief History of Love
Release Date: September 22, 2009
Label: 4AD
Author: Cam Lindsay
First Spin Live Until: September 29, 2009
Track Listing:
- Crystal Visions
- Too Young To Love
- Dominos
- Love In Vain
- At War With The Sun
- Velvet
- Golden Pendulum
- Frisk
- A Brief History Of Love
- Tonight
- Count Backwards From Ten
Tags: first spin, the big pink
Posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 2:23 pm by Alberto and is filed under Reviews, The New Music.
