Quartet BIG YELLOW are from Luton and believe themselves to be a “chilled out concoction”, an unfortunate turn of phrase which immediately has me on my guard. That and the fact they’re from Luton. Better to have stayed vague and said Bedfordshire.
They cite acts as diverse as The Velvet Underground, The Cure, REM and no fewer than 3 drummers - Mitch Mitchell, Ginger Baker and Stewart Copeland – as influences. I’m expecting some amazing blend of fazed guitars, heavy bass-lines, elusive lyrics and a rhythm section to die for.
Unsurprisingly the truth is far less revelatory and for more mundane. ‘Twists And Turns’ kicks off with a mid-tempo drum beat that has me in mind of the Duracell Bunny such is the insistence of its unflinching monotony. The guitarist strives for some epic chord structures but his efforts sound stodgy and murky afflicted by poor production. The singer’s voice is also lost in the mix.
Musically I think they’re trying to capture something of New Order. The singer’s prosaic lyrics strive for something enigmatic in the vein of Bernard Sumner but fail to capture my interest.
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‘Trouble Again’ starts clumsily. The guitarist sounds as if he’s decided to play his opening chord section while wearing boxing gloves. When they all join in only the metronome off microphone has seemingly managed to keep the beat. The organ is quite funky but not in a way that would ever prompt you to even remotely consider shaking a leg. It’s the drummer again who seems to be able to supply any drum pattern you like as long as it’s the same one.
Apparently BIG YELLOW were formed in the mid 90s which does not bode well for the long term as these songs sound like the efforts of a group who met just a couple of weeks before entering the studio. I always like to find something positive in every demo I receive but this one leaves me well and truly stumped.
Sorry lads.
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