Big’N – Discipline Through Sound – Review

Big’N

Discipline Through Sound (Skin Graft)
by Nik Rainey

One of these days, I’m going to figure out why I can happily tolerate the most punishing, dissonant chafe that can be wrenched out of any musical instrument, but the sound of a guttural, constipated human voice on top of it still makes me wince in pain. Turns out that the vocals on Big’N‘s version of “TNT” (from Skin Graft’s AC/DC trib, Sides 1-4) were not an exaggerated Bon Scott parody after all – that’s the way vocalist Akins really sings. For me, at least, that’s a shame, for in spite of the band’s imaginative reworkings of the usual indie suspects (I won’t even bother listing them here, I’m sure you can guess) and the compressed vista of Inibla Nevets’ (could it be…? Nahh.) production, that ulcerous gr/yowl keeps pushing me away. That doesn’t mean it won’t grow on me over time. But then again, I’ve got enough things growing on me already. People are starting to stare.