Big Ups
NYC foursome Big Ups make the trip across the pond for the very first time after kicking up a storm with their riotous live performances in Northern America, particularly their frenzied sets at this year's CMJ festival.
For fans after a glimpse of what to expect from a Big Ups show, they need look no further than the band's recent clip for album cut 'Goes Black'. Directed by Sean Stout (Terror Eyes), the camera takes viewers to the front row of a show, a sweat-laden visual attack on the senses with the camera under constant threat of flailing limbs. 'Goes Black' comes from the band's debut record 'Eighteen Hours of Static', released through Tough Love Records.
The band, made up of Brendan Finn, Joe Galarraga, Amar Lal, and Carlos Salguero Jr., met whilst learning about specifications of Cat 5 cables in New York City. Shortly after, they formed a band. Since that glamorous meeting in 2010, Big Ups have refined their blend of punk, post-punk, metal and indie rock into a salty mash that gets stuck to the roof of your mouth. At their brightest, they have been likened to The Descendents, but at their sludgiest, they call to mind bands like Pissed Jeans and The Jesus Lizard.
Their debut 11-track LP was recorded by Charles DeChants in the rock 'n' roll labyrinth known as Excello Recording in Brooklyn over three days. The album highlights Big Ups' depressive mood swings. They toy with dynamics on aggressive tracks like "TMI", "Little Kid" and "Fresh Meat". But not to worry - the mania is still there; songs like "Goes Black" and "Atheist Self-Help" demand attention with their sneering guitars and colossal drums. Lyrically, the album is a meditation on subjects like truth, faith and science (the record's title is a reference to Carl Sagan's Contact), but admittedly, Big Ups doesn't necessarily have all of the answers.
