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The Darkest Night 4:010:00/4:01
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Got Enough Rope 2:450:00/2:45
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Anything At All 3:140:00/3:14
Bio
Long beach based punk rock and roll band
Baron Norris had tried to get The Big Store up and running for a little while, but it wasn't until Hiroshi Yamazaki answered the Craigslist ad citing The Only Ones, The Heartbreakers, The Libertines and The Gun Club that things started to come together. It turned out Hiroshi was also looking to start something inspired by The Heartbreakers. Even better, he had played drums for Walter Lure! Enlisting long time friend Chris Barfield and tasking him to do his best Bruce Foxton (The Jam) on bass solidified the lineup in 2019.
By early 2020 The Big Store was ready start playing around town. Then everything shut down. The summer of 2021 saw The Big Store recording their debut album with engineer Manny Nieto at Suplex Audio in Los Angeles. The Big Store has been played on Psychotic Distraction in Chicago, IL, Radio Warfare, Down on the Street and Garagerocktopia in Riverside, CA. The album will be released digitally September 24 with vinyl to follow by year’s end.
Album Reviews
Imagine Violent Femme’s Gordon Gano fronting The Only Ones. If you are familiar with either of those names I just dropped, that should get you into the door of Big Store. If taking your name from a Jacobites song is a declaration of influences, I can hear it. But you can name drop and make marketing comparisons until your blue in the face. Rock ain’t dead. It’s just that so many are flogging a dead horse when they should be administering life support. Well, this is the welcome sound of EMT’s arriving on the scene.
The opener, “Got Enough Rope” grabs you by the throat and won’t let go. “My Rainy Day” has a great blend of sneer and barbed wit. But let’s face it, wit and sneer is nothing without some vulnerability behind it to lend substance. We aren’t listening to some wanna be tough guy bitching, so much as a shy guy throwing his heart out there. Staring at the back wall or the floor instead of the camera or groupie in the front row.
“What You Wanted” nails the music biz in any generation and might just be a slap in the face to anyone with a Me or America First attitude, “Who’s really on your side when they’re in it for themselves?” The Darkest Night” is an album highlight. Soaring, killer hooks and lyrics looking for a way out. “The sun comes up and you find you’re all alone,” says it all. If Rock and Roll is all about chasing after something you never can quite get ahold of, then this is it. And despite any song’s claims of “Occupational Burnout”, this the sound of someone just getting started.
“Gas Food Lodging” is pure Power Pop bliss and in a just world would be a hit. As it stands, it could easily be the song that catches your ear during your fave Netflix show.
The closer, “Make It Go Away” seems to sum up this album’s major theme. This album is all about escape. Escape from all the shit dragging you down. And while it manages to make a clean break for it, the final destination is still up in the air. As it should be. All endings should just be beginnings.
When it comes to Big Store, I have to say it’s refreshing to hear a band approaching Rock & Roll without pretension or self-conscious contrivance. Which, seems to be the zeitgeist of today’s popular music climate. Well, Big Store has your alternative. Here’s to pushing your cart in and happy shopping.
-Kevin Orton
The Big Store is a power pop/punk rock n’ roll trio hailing from beautiful Long Beach, California that has just released their self-titled debut The Big Store. I don’t know if they named themselves after the lesser but still hilarious Marx Brothers movie, but that reference works for me! “Got Enough Rope” starts us off with fast punk energy but with plenty of melodic fuzz guitar runs that expand the group’s basic sound. As noted, guitarist and singer Norris has a deadpan Lou Reed delivery which fits the music perfectly, while Barfield’s bass and Yamazaki’s drums effortlessly nail down the rhythm. “Anything At All” almost seems like a new middle section to the previous song, as it matches that song’s energy and mix almost perfectly. Very funny punk-nihilist lyrics: “I don't care about anything at al/ I don't care how it went with John or Paul / I don't want to hear your thoughts on the New York Dolls.” Norris doubles his hardcore guitar licks flawlessly.
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https://www.divideandconquermusic.com/indie-music-album-reviews/the-big-store-the-big-store