#command your weather

Good sonics compromised by self-insistent vocals. Alas, it's fatal.

Format: 12”, LP Pressing: 1st Color Variant: Gold Catalog Number: JNR204 Label: Joyful Noise Release Date: 2016

Tracklist:

A1 - Last Legs A2 - Regulars A3 - Father’s Day A4 - Blacker Holes A5 - Popular Demand B1 - Own Throats B2 - Send Help B3 - Diagnostic Front B4 - Horses

  by Dillon Price on July 8, 2016

Genre: Metal, Stoner Rock, Sludge Release date: July 8, 2016 Number of Tracks: 9 Label: Joyful Noise Website: bigbigbusiness.com  

Purchase or preview Command Your Weather

Meet the Melvin’s other half. Los Angeles sludge-rockers Big Business are at it again with their 5th studio album, Command Your Weather. The band was formed in 2003 by bassist Jared Warren of Karp and drummer Coady Willis of Murder City Devils. Eventually Warren and Willis were joined by Scott Martin (guitar and backing vocals) and Toshi Kasai (guitar, keyboards and backing vocals). This time Big Business has returned to the original two-piece involving Warren and Willis.

During the mid millennium, sludge and doom was considered too much of a novelty to fare against the indie bands for popularity. Some bands may have been hip enough to post their music to Myspace without friend requesting five hundred people a day in hopes of receiving fame. In retrospect, sludge and doom-metal are subgenres you would need to have an appreciation for in order to tolerate for a duration of time. Personally, I appreciate much of the genre but have found myself getting bored with some bands (especially live). Big Business has always been one of the bands to keep my attention longer than one drawn out jam.

Warren and Willis build most of their songs around simply layered riffs. There is nothing complex about the melodies on this album. Structurally, Warren and Willis add some depth to an otherwise repetitive album.

Command Your Weather starts out strong with catchy hooks and heavy guitar chops on “Regulars” and “Father’s Day.” “Blacker Holes” and “Popular Demand” also deliver hard hitting and heavy chops. “Our Throats” keeps this album afloat before the last few tracks. “Regulars,” a previously released single, stood out the most. While the guitar riffs seem to be centered around the same few notes, the vocals and bridges expand far enough beyond the confines of redundancy to bring some soulfulness into the mix. Then comes the next track “Father’s Day,” another great track with powerful riffs and harmonic vocals. “Send Help” and “Horse” don’t exactly fit the mold. Production-wise, both tracks have a cleaner mix and higher end than the rest of the album.

Command Your Weather has it’s shining moments that make up for much of the redundant riffs that encompass each track. Overall, I found this album rather bland in comparison to Big Business’s earlier material. This album is worth listening to if you can withstand the boring fillers.

Stream “Father’s Day” and “Regulars” below: