From the vaults: Bigelf – Hex (2007)
Any doubt that modern bands don’t know how to make good time rock ‘n’ roll is dispelled about 5 seconds into ‘Madhatter’, the opening tune on Bigelf’s sonic brew of an album. A glorious T-Rex hook face-fucks some serious Sabbath-inspired rumble in a song so colossus in its sound it could eat mountains. Bigelf are fun – more fun than you’ve ever had with your clothes on or off. Their sound is cinematic, symphonic, and it will make you smile like a crazy person on happy pills. Don’t over-analyze it, don’t confine it to a label. Just listen. Bluesy tones, boulder shitting riffs, epic shredding, huge choruses, and, erm, mellotron – it’s the purest ingredients of 1967-72 amped up and beamed out. ‘Carry the Load’ is all stoner thump; ‘Bat in the Belfry II’ is Queen channelling an Alice Cooper vibe; and the ethereal ‘Disappear’ is so moving it’ll make you melt – is this what Jimi meant by kissing the sky?
‘Hex’ was a more straightforward affair than its follow-up – the sheer clusterfuck of a rock ‘n’ roll circus which was ‘Cheat The Gallows’. It’s the perfect way into this frankly astonishing band. This is not some rose-tinted nostalgia trip of a band – it’s one who has managed to put their own twist on the classic.
Any doubt that modern bands don’t know how to make good time rock ‘n’ roll is dispelled about 5 seconds into ‘Madhatter’, the opening tune on Bigelf’s sonic brew of an album. A glorious T-Rex hook face-fucks some serious Sabbath-inspired rumble in a song so colossus in its sound it could eat mountains. Bigelf are fun – more fun than you’ve ever had with your clothes on or off. Their sound is cinematic, symphonic, and it will make you smile like a crazy person on happy pills. Don’t over-analyze it, don’t confine it to a label. Just listen. Bluesy tones, boulder shitting riffs, epic shredding, huge choruses, and, erm, mellotron – it’s the purest ingredients of 1967-72 amped up and beamed out. ‘Carry the Load’ is all stoner thump; ‘Bat in the Belfry II’ is Queen channelling an Alice Cooper vibe; and the ethereal ‘Disappear’ is so moving it’ll make you melt – is this what Jimi meant by kissing the sky?
‘Hex’ was a more straightforward affair than its follow-up – the sheer clusterfuck of a rock ‘n’ roll circus which was ‘Cheat The Gallows’. It’s the perfect way into this frankly astonishing band. This is not some rose-tinted nostalgia trip of a band – it’s one who has managed to put their own twist on the classic.
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