Big Blue - Big Blue - EP

Big Blue

Big Blue - EP
self-released; 2014

3.0 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

The artist known as Big Blue says of his recent release Big Blue - EP that “Really, from top to bottom, this EP was made in a teenage beach-bum haze.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. He sounds like a teenager and seems to be quite bummed out in the ways teenagers can be. He mentions Deerhunter, Kurt Vile and Real Estate and inspirations but I can’t say I hear any similarities. 

The tracks on this album contain guitar, vocals, and some sort of “chorus” like effect. I know the style he is going for but he isn’t there yet. He sings in a Stephin Merritt type way embracing his sadness, melancholy and general disdain for existence. The thing is Merritt still had some life in his voice and you could empathize with him through clever lyrics and delivery. Unfortunately for the singer of Big Blue you can’t understand the lyrics and he often sounds like he is on the verge of keeling over and dying. The production doesn't help much either as the recording sounds too raw and unpolished.

Here’s the thing the guy has small moments of potential. You hear it occasionally come out on songs such as “Once More for Old Times' Sake” and “Express Point.” The energy level of the songs is close to nil. Even the tracks with sparse percussion do little to infuse it. I have to say some of the songs were decent but “Submerged” needs a lot of work. His vocals are almost impossible to understand and they sound incredibly muddy.

Being a teenager kind of sucks. You are young which is awesome but you have no idea how to appreciate it and your emotions are basically a train wreck. My advice to Big Blue is to try and cheer up a bit in at least your music. The point of melancholy music is to never drag us down with you. We can empathize, relate and even find tremendous moments of beauty but we don’t want to feel bad about it.

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