Three people: guitar, bass and drum. Sounds pretty conventional and run of the mill, doesn’t it? Well, the French Kiss act The Big Sleep, are far from ordinary. When I read the reviews for their ‘06 debut Son of the Tiger, it didn’t sound like my cup of tea, but after hearing a track online, I downloaded. It wasn’t much my speed but I loved listening to it when I went running. It just had this energy that was hard to put into words.
After awhile it kind of just drifted out of rotation and I had forgotten about them. Fast forward a couple of years and the advance of Sleep Forever shows up at my door. My goodness, had the trio made some strides in the last two years. The energy seems to have doubled and, in my opinion, the songwriting is much improved.
The Big Sleep come out you with a heavy psych-rock sound with elements of shoegaze mixed in. The lead single off the disc is “Pinkies” which starts with an intoxicating guitar hook. The rest of tune fires along at breakneck speed with Sonya Balchandani (bass), and Gabe Rhodes (drums) firing on all cylinders and Danny Barria (guitar) absolutely shredding over them. Its one of those tunes that pisses you off when it ends, so you just hit the repeat button to hear it again.
The rest of the disc is great as well but I have to say I prefer the heavier rocking tunes as opposed to slow meandering tunes, although “Little Sister” is pretty darn good. Other standouts include “Undying Love” and “The Big Guns.”
Sleep Forever is out today, so hit up your merchant of choice to pick up a copy. I am hoping to catch the trio in Austin at SXSW. I feel like they are the type to blow your hair back when they play live.
From Son of the Tiger:
The Big Sleep – You Can’t Touch the Untouchable
From You Today, Me Tomorrow
The Big Sleep – Sleepykid Waltz
The Big Sleep – Sleepykid
The Big Sleep – Fast B
SXSW 2008 Dates:
March 12, 2008
Austin, TX – SXSW
Frenchkiss Records Showcase
Mohawk
March 13, 2008
Austin, TX – SXSW
Noise Pop Party
Red Eyed Fly
March 14, 2008
Austin, TX – SXSW
Little Radio Party
Beauty Bar
March 15, 2008
Austin, TX – SXSW
Outside Distro Party
Saxon Pub
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