10/11/13 Album review: Big Scary, Not Art - Album - The Music Network

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Album review: Big Scary, Not Art20 June 2013

by Nastassia Baroni

2012 was a big year for Melbourne duo Big Scary. Touring their TripleJ Album of The Year­nominated record Vacation around the countryand then the world, their trajectory included an extensive US tour, astop by mega music festival South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin,and culminated with a journey to India for a string of performances.They say that travel changes you, and while no Ravi Shankar­esquesitar sounds feature on the band’s second album Not Art, it’s definitelya departure from Vacation's plugged­in indie­rock roots. This time TomIansek and Jo Syme are slowing things down, favoring a more R'n'B­flavored sound.

We got our first taste of Not Art with the enticingly­named teaser trackPhil Collins earlier this year. This slow burning song defies theconventions of an lead album single and, according to lead vocalistTom Iansek, releasing it first was a deliberate act of misdirection.Iansek’s whispering vocals are brooding, a little aggressive, andwholly melancholic. While Syme’s looping, macabre drum sequence(it’s similarity to 1981 Phil Collins hit In the Air Tonight no doubtlending to the track’s name) sets the mood for the much darker recordto come.

While former Yves Klein Blue bassist Sean Cook produced Vacation,Iansek took the wheel this time round, with a little help from GrammyAward winning mixer Tom Elmhirst (The Black Keys, Mark Ronson,Amy Winehouse), guest bassists Ted O’Neil (The Vasco Era) andGraham Ritchie (Emma Louise), and a gospel choir here and there.

Luck Now is the best example of Iansek’s progression in theproduction seat and his best Bon Iver impression to date: featuringstaccato percussion and piano chords layered over dubstep and hip­hop inspired electronic loops. The antagonistically named, yet sweet­sounding Why Hip Hop Sucks in ’13 showcases Syme’s hauntingvocals and arresting drums, and samples gospel choir harmonies, allrolled in a pretty piano melody. It’s an affirmation of the duo’sdedication to making interesting and eclectic music.

Big Scary are still in the process of discovering their sound and Not Artis indicative of that. While the record is more focused than their debut,the sonic influences are still wildly diverse; from Jeff Buckley to BruceSpringsteen to Kanye West, Not Art pays homage to an eclectic blendof artists and genres. And that’s the best thing about it: in samplingelements of the art of others in new ways, Big Scary are hoping tomake sense of their own. Rather than being confusing or disjointed,the result is a poignant album about the artistic process itself.

Not Art is out Friday, June 28

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