Twin Rivers (Not Art LP | 2013)
Let us not debate the irrelevance of time. So, we’re a little late to the party with this one. But if digging up gems isn’t a thing, then they’d be a lot of unemployed archaeologists. Think about that.
A song of the ‘sad ilk’, ‘Twin Rivers’ is the spacious and sparse release from Melbourne duo Big Scary. Reiterating the ‘what’s in a name’ sentiment, Big Scary are actually more maturely morose than large or petrifying.
Subdued and emotive, the male/female alternating vocals commentate on the circulating mundanity of a relationships demise and dailyness. The repetitive nature of the motif is reiterated thematically and cleverly mirrored in the cyclic sound; from opening melancholic piano chords to an utterance of ‘nothing ever happens’, both soundscape and lyricism run in circles. There’s a disjunction evidenced in the vocals, as neither party addresses one another, instead offering isolated narratives on the disintegration of love and the lethargy it produces.
It’s perhaps the underplayed elements and spacious effect, that left room for imaginative re-invention. Indie connoisseurs The Antlers offered a vocally distorted and brass-based re-mix, whilst Dan The Automator, settled on a dreamier soundscape: retaining the delicacy of the original offering.
Adopting a less is more approach, Big Scary demonstrate that complexity can take the most minimalist of forms. With slight reminiscence of early XX releases, Big Scary are in possession of some subtle poetry and understated charms.
