Nature Morte

Montreals BIG|BRAVE have been creating heavy, doom-laden rock music since the early 2010s. Since the beginning, their recordings have contained expansive, visceral compositions built around lumbering, repetitive rhythms and featuring punishingly loud guitars and wailing vocals. A 2021 collaboration with the Body was a return to the groups roots, presenting raw interpretations of Appalachian, Canadian, and English hymns and folk songs. The creation of that album informed BIG|BRAVEs next release, nature morte, particularly the songs structures and lyrics. Right from the start, nature morte is sharp, commanding, and direct, with smoldering guitar distortion crushing against pounding drums, while lead singer Robin Watties passionate howling expresses dark forces consuming all senses of hope. Second track "the one who bornes a weary load" opens with jagged, no wave-like guitars that clear out for a calmer section, gradually swelling up into a storm matching the intensity of Watties devastating lyrics about being the victim of abuse. The instrumental "my hope renders me a fool" is a prime example of how BIG|BRAVEs monstrous wall of sound can actually be quite comforting, as currents of blown-out guitars wash up against each other in cyclical motions. It cleanses the palate for two successive nine-minute mini-epics that respectively detail themes of obsessive desire ("the fable of subjugation") and self-loathing ("a parable of the trusting"). Though BIG|BRAVE have worked with Seth Manchester at his famed Machines with Magnets studio before, nature morte feels like a major step up in terms of its production and overall sound. Its the bands most dynamic, full-bodied recording to date, and a clear improvement over their somewhat rusty-sounding early releases, moving between lulling spaciousness and cathartic violence. ~ Paul Simpson