BIG|BRAVE—“Ardor”
Southern Lord; 09/15/17—
Sometimes you just want to hear a dark and brooding doom metal album, but with unique twists and odd enough to keep you listening. The band BIG|BRAVE and their three-track-full-length release Ardor is just such an example. Sonically, it’s like a child brought forth from the melding of SubRosa (especially with the addition of violin during “Borer”), One-Eyed Doll, and Björk—brought to the forefront with the vocals, which have a distinct Kimberly Freeman-Björk hybrid sound in the tonality and lyrical delivery. Though the primary tools of their music stem from oversaturated guitar, bass, and thundering drums, they use enough effects on their instruments to turn them into soundscape producing machines. Of course, these auditory accoutrements lie heavily in the realm of the morose and disturbing, but they are also incredibly alluring at the same time. The clean female vocals have a certain coy quality about them, and many times performs with a range of emotional delivery: joy, sadness, a yell that belies only the anguish of such personal sentiment, and many others. Though the aforementioned “Borer” is a song which is a conglomeration of many of the stereotypes of doom metal—and one that I would probably recommend to someone who is a huge fan of the more traditional style—it is the first cut, “Sound,” that shows the many sides that this band holds. If you are in a particularly grim mood and need something to join you on your personal journey, then this record is for you.—R.G.B. Robb
BIG|BRAVE—“Ardor”
Southern Lord; 09/15/17—
Sometimes you just want to hear a dark and brooding doom metal album, but with unique twists and odd enough to keep you listening. The band BIG|BRAVE and their three-track-full-length release Ardor is just such an example. Sonically, it’s like a child brought forth from the melding of SubRosa (especially with the addition of violin during “Borer”), One-Eyed Doll, and Björk—brought to the forefront with the vocals, which have a distinct Kimberly Freeman-Björk hybrid sound in the tonality and lyrical delivery. Though the primary tools of their music stem from oversaturated guitar, bass, and thundering drums, they use enough effects on their instruments to turn them into soundscape producing machines. Of course, these auditory accoutrements lie heavily in the realm of the morose and disturbing, but they are also incredibly alluring at the same time. The clean female vocals have a certain coy quality about them, and many times performs with a range of emotional delivery: joy, sadness, a yell that belies only the anguish of such personal sentiment, and many others. Though the aforementioned “Borer” is a song which is a conglomeration of many of the stereotypes of doom metal—and one that I would probably recommend to someone who is a huge fan of the more traditional style—it is the first cut, “Sound,” that shows the many sides that this band holds. If you are in a particularly grim mood and need something to join you on your personal journey, then this record is for you.—R.G.B. Robb
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