With a taste for sun-tinted indie-rock and nonchalance, The Big Moon are a band that have been bubbling away for the past year recording their debut album ‘Love In The 4th Dimension’, and in the meantime, releasing some pretty huge singles. Reminiscent of the noughties ‘golden age’ of indie, throughout this long-player, the four-piece also work to pull in different styles ranging from grunge-y heavier tracks to unadulterated pop songs.
‘Love In The 4th Dimension’ begins on a high point, with The Big Moon’s magnum opus Sucker; a perfectly blended pop/indie track with an arena-ready guitar riff and euphoric quality to it. Admittedly, it’s hard to match that level of brilliance over the next 50 minutes or so, but the quartet do a great job at sustaining the determination and zeal that’s present on the album’s opener. Continuing with Pull The Other One, The Big Moon showcase some slick musicianship with a storming bassline and sing-along worthy falsettos, as well as the smooth mix of nonchalant vocals from lead singer Juliette Jackson.
Righteous and ambient, the songs featured on ‘Love In The 4th Dimension’ summon an appetite for festival-season, and to be jumping madly about to the album’s more upbeat tracks like Cupid and Happy New Year. More tender moments are not amiss though, especially in the form of Formidable – a track that’s stripped back to a ballad-style filled with melancholy musicianship and virtuous lyrics repeating “I will be formidable” … an objective the band definitely achieve on this impressive debut album.
Hosting uncanny organs, The Road shows a different side to the hot and heavy style The Big Moon usually go for as it adopts a more sauntering approach right before the album’s back up to speed with the emergence of the punk-esque Silent Movie Susie. Drifting away from titular track Love In The 4th Dimension, the LP shifts to a more laid-back gear with final duo Zeds, a trance-like waltz, and aptly-named album closer The End, which features a celebratory finale as the all-girl band finalise their manifesto.
Juggling a lot of influences, ‘Love In The 4th Dimension’ provides a compilation of feelings of love, independence, youth, and determination. With a stellar and diverse debut album, The Big Moon display the different directions the four-piece can take as they spearhead the Class of 2017 with their energetic and vibrant brand of indie.
You can nab a copy of ‘Love In The 4th Dimension’ here.
Words by Jasmin Robinson