Album Review: Mind The Drift by Big Business

Chances are high that if you like the first two records from L.A.-via-Seattle's Big Business, you'll also like the band's third album in four years, Mind the Drift. While that may sound like quintessential question-begging, it's not, as bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis added guitarist Toshi Kasai before writing and recording much of number three. To these ears, Willis and Warren have always been a pop band that clad great hooks-- listen for "Eis Hexe" from Head For the Shallow, or "Grounds for Divorce" from Here Come the Waterworks-- within thick metal plates.

Full Review >>

Review Summary: Not the soundtrack to the ape-wrestling, head-banging, womanizing sludge madness one would expect.After discovering the masculine nature of my first-born-in-waiting's gender this morning, I scoured my "To Review" queue for something to celebrate. Abstract Rude? Eh, I guess I'll do this real quick, but just as Common finally figured out last year with Universal Mind Control, conscious hip-hop just isn't manly (and probably never was). Ok done.

Full Review >>

Big Business grows from a two-piece to a trio with this third album, augmenting the sludgy, low-end, drum and bass buzz of the band’s Here Come the Waterworks sound with a serious melodic turn toward big floating psych riffs and three-part harmonies. Bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis take a big step away from their part-time jobs in the Melvins (and from Warren’s work in Karp) by inviting guitarist Toshi Kasai into the club. The bass may still be an ominous thunder of distortion, the drums a continual, chaotic kit-hopping roll, but the vocals now sound like a weird cross of stadium metal and the Beach Boys.

Full Review >>