Big Business - Here Come The Waterworks (Hydrahead)
4/5
By: Charlie Potter
This is exciting stuff folks. You pretty much know what you're getting within 10 seconds - full on colossal rock action - and this caries on relentlessly throughout the album. Honestly, for those of you who think heavy rock is all doom and gloom, think again - this is one of the most human and honest recordings I've heard in my life.
Unfortunately, one of the first things you notice about 'Here Come The Waterworks' is what a terrible recording (though far from a terrible record) it is - it's shockingly echoey and muddy, but once you consider the fact that they release their own live EPs on tour, you can understand that they possibly grew to like these recordings so much that they wanted to capture this on a studio record, and these vast echoes, this mountainous sound swamped in reverb, is undoubtedly a sound that you grow to truly love. Unfortunately, it is a bit hard to get away from thinking that it's a shame they couldn't have done a really nice, 'proper' recording.
Riff after riff, this is another one of those albums that has that haunting, unexplainable familiarity to it that keeps you hooked and yet completely satisfied at once - empowered, fun, emotional, this album has all these things, and what's more, it has these things in approximately equal amounts.
A lot of the tracks sound as if you're only hearing bass and drums, but amongst all the echo and distorted bass, there is definitely guitar in there. Now, the man playing said guitar is a man who has never made a mistake or played a bad note - sir Dave Scott Stone. Mr. Stone is best known for his work on all of the greatest Melvins material (coincidence? Big Business now are after all the Melvins' rhythm section), and also releases various solo and collaborative efforts on labels such as P-Tapes, but here he's been kept in line by the lads and is providing the occasional riffing expanse that Big Business don't necessarily need, but are all the more vast for.
The range of aesthetics the band manage to muster up is truly impressive, but the common theme itself is always 'Big Business', in the way that mountains are big business, in the way really big aeroplanes are big business, in the way that dinosaurs are big business - but, this is beautifully off set with their truly emotional lyrics. Truly, this is one of heavy rocks' great albums.
Overall, the thing that really cannot be beaten on this album is the sheer drive of the musicians. It puts you in mind of that Iggy Pop quote on the beginning of Mogwai's 'Come on Die Young' - blood sweat and guts have gone into this music, and Big Business will not sleep until you understand that. I cannot think of any music more compelling than this. There is absolutely no point in picking out highlight tracks on this album because Big Business do not and will not rest - their ears are deaf to bad riffs, their entire constitution is made up of only the best riffs and drum parts. Every second of this recording somehow sounds like it was done in one perfect take, and that's not even to mention the brilliant vocal melodies. Most heavy rock bands can't even muster up more than a few good vocal melodies, but they are all over this album. There's no doubt that Big Business could set up at any time or any place and play this album note for note perfectly, with all the conviction of the very tides of this planet, or the burning sun that feeds it.
I apologise if I sound like I'm trying to sell you the album but, thing is, I am. Buy it. They deserve your money more than you do. They work harder than you. They are better people.
Artists in this article: Big Business
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