The Big Pink — Dominos

I resisted this band for as long as I could. I wasn’t sure about the name and all — that’s quite ambitious, I thought. The Big Pink? Really? And website called www.musicfromthebigpink.com? For once someone else’s love of The Band almost put me off entirely — for no good reason, really.

However, the fact that The Big Pink are on 4AD finally won me over (of course) — and I was not disappointed with the unapologetically massive “Dominos.” And I actually can’t wait to see them live, because I know it’s going to be good and loud. As Pinkie just pointed out to me, their use of a Marshall stack (as seen in the video) bodes well for the volume level.

Music press places The Big Pink in the trendy bucket of “My Bloody Valentine-influenced pop” — but it makes us think of other music of that era (1988-1992); specifically the bands that blended the swingy good time of raving ‘till dawn with the swirly guitar textures that were the hallmark of British indie since Manchester circa 1978. The Big Pink play the modern version of what bands like Chapterhouse and Jesus Jones (below), among others — let’s not talk about EMF, even though I guess I should ‘fess up to having liked them — were up to back in the day.

Chapterhouse — Falling Down

Chapterhouse — Pearl

EMF — Lies

Soup Dragons — I’m Free

The Charlatans — The Only One I Know

Jesus Jones — Right Here, Right Now

And yes, I’m sure you were expecting to see some Happy Mondays here, but well … I’m not posting any. But I will do my Bez dance for you on request, if you ask real nicely.

xoxo c. hotpoint (with assistance from pvb)