BIG BRAVE
In Grief Or In Hope (Thrill Jockey)
Big Brave’s 10th album is the first to feature studio contributions from touring bassist Liam Andrews of My Disco and Aicher, providing ballast and anchor, but more conspicuous is the absence of drummer Tasy Hudson. In Grief Or In Hope is beatless, though very definitely not weightless; it rumbles and drifts rather than explodes, the listener caught up in the shifting quicksands of crackle, distortion, drone and decay.
After a tentative first half, the second is overpowering. Verdure is founded on a dense droning pulse before guitarist Mathieu Ball throws open the door to the howling abyss; An Uttering Of Antipathy builds to guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie intoning the mesmeric refrain “God only blames me,” her voice a clear mountain stream flowing over volcanic bedrock; and the title track is forged into a pounding proto-industrial beast, sparks of feedback flying off the angle grinder.
Adapting to Hudson’s absence has meant less attention to dynamics and tension building – two of Big Brave’s strongest suits – so there’s an initial sense that perhaps more has been sacrificed than gained. But there’s a subtlety and complexity at work here that promises more slow-release listening pleasure.
words BEN WOOLHEAD
