A debut album should have a big impact, after all it is a musician’s first major offering. It should also stand out of course, ensuring that the sound is unique enough to get attention. This is not always an easy feat but a band that has absolutely smashed that out the park is Big Band of Boom.
Their self titled album starts everything off with the jauntiest of rhythms and a musical theatre energy in ‘Stupid Filthy Rich’. It has some of the most unserious lyrics and matched with the raucous instrumentals, there’s something infectiously fun about the track. This is further evident in the bridge which is fast paced, using rapping to make it feel like there is a complete lack of control. It’s a very catchy opener.
‘Earthquake’ is instant fun again, upbeat with its cabaret-like instrumentals. It’s a bit shouty, there’s punchy drums and the grandness of the brass instruments really tie the whole song together.
Then we hear ‘Doomscrolling’, where the guitar intro makes it feel more subdued, but this is short lived, as becomes apparent throughout the album. The unison riff in this song is absolutely brilliant, as are the moments of quiet that contrast with the chorus when it all kicks off and suddenly becomes a heavy metal, punky banger.
‘Big Bad Voodoo’ doesn’t lose any of the energy built up so far, but does compact it into one of the shorter tracks we hear. This is followed by a lengthier song in the form of ‘Propane Nightmares’, the first of two covers on the album. In the five minutes we get with this one it’s quite musical theatre once again which makes it feel very episodic. Both this and ‘Toxicity’ cover two tracks that Big Band of Boom completely make their own and in the process the band make them significantly more epic too.
Song six, ‘Energy Vampire’ shares its shouty nature with song ten, ‘Anxiety Universe’, still maintaining a great melody that gives both of them an amazing sound. Meanwhile songs seven and nine, ‘Knock at the Door’ and ‘One Night Only’ respectively sound menacing and snarly when sung in a cockney accent, very Fagin from Oliver Twist. ‘Thanks Human’ is fairly talky too, a lot of common themes lacing certain tracks together, but so much difference between everything on the album as well which is what makes it as great as it is.
It takes up until track eight, ‘Not Today’ to finally get a more chilled entry. The jazzy melodic composition feels melodic in amongst the chaos, a change of pace that comes at the right time. Track 13, ‘The Longest of Goodbyes’ is slower and more ballad-like as well, and then we round things off with ‘Yugen’ to close the album.
Big Band of Boom have created something grandeur and honestly it would be very hard for them to top this in the future. The bar is set high, but what an amazing way to announce yourself as a band. Once you’ve heard them, you definitely won’t forget them.
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