NEW ARTIST OF THE DAY: Big Ups

Prepare for a  shock from these New York punks...

SUBBA-CULTCHA SAYS: "Harrowing, exhilarating and eerily compulsive, Big Ups’ debut album ‘Eighteen Hours Of Static’ is a genuine must hear. It sees the New York four-piece oscillating between dirt-raw punk and more subtle, brooding fare, ennui laced with aggression, listeners alternatively fucked with and fucked up. There have been plenty of startling records released in recent months but few have unsettled quite like this, second track ‘Goes Black’ an accelerated, razor-sharp confessional driven by grinding bass and the detached, end of the rope vocals of Joe Galarraga. If you’ve grown tired of angst by rote you’ll find this a welcome wake up call, and one you may well feel compelled to shout about. Check out ‘Goes Black’ below (and brace yourself), and in the meantime, watch out for our upcoming interview."
Big Ups blend punk, post-punk, metal, and indie rock into a salty mash that gets stuck to the roof of your mouth. At their brightest, they have been likened to The Descendents, but at their sludgiest, they call to mind bands like Pissed Jeans and The Jesus Lizard.
Eighteen Hours of Static was recorded by Charles DeChants in the rock 'n' roll labyrinth known as Excello Recording in Brooklyn over three days. The album highlights Big Ups' depressive mood swings. The band slows their usual frantic pace on the burner "Wool" - a song about dealing with suffering. They toy with dynamics on aggressive tracks like "TMI", "Little Kid", and "Fresh Meat". But not to worry - the mania is still there; songs like "Goes Black" and "Atheist Self-Help" demand attention with their sneering guitars and colossal drums. Lyrically, the album is a meditation on subjects like truth, faith, and science (the record's title is a reference to Carl Sagan's 
Contact), but admittedly, Big Ups doesn't necessarily have all of the answers.
Check out 'Goes Black' here.
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