Big Wig

unMerry Melodies (Fearless)
by Scott Hefflon

While the opening “Old Lady” is my least favorite track on the CD, by the closing refrain, “Fuck you, you shouldn’t be allowed to drive,” Big Wig was my newest favorite punk rock band. (Actually, 30 Foot Fall is right up there too – boy, is Fearless on a roll!) Straight outta Jersey, Big Wig has that much sought after NOFX/Fat Wreck Chords sound (and style, as often as not). On record, they sound as energetic and fun as the Bouncing Souls do live. And that says a lot. Big Wig’s cover of “Cheers” shoulda been on the Show & Tell comp, but ain’t that just the way of the world. Where Felix Frump faltered on the high notes, sounding strained and thin, Big Wig push the highs full force and stuff harmonies into every available molecule. It’s a hard thing to describe, but unMerry Melodies seems to capture every nuance of the rapid-picking guitarist, the variations in how hard the drummer is hitting the snare, and hell, the backing vocalists actually seem to have distinguishable voices. And singer/guitarist Tom has a voice that’s honest and (usually) right on pitch, but I think it’s the talented NOFXian guitar rampage, the barrage o’ drums, and the immediately familiar punkpop structures played real fast, real well, that’ll put Big Wig on the map. Give me a dumb-ass ditty like “Carnivore” (sounds like Guttermouth, repeats the chorus “I eat meat” a lot) to the “takin’ a stand, man” juvenility of “Pro Life Taker” any day, but hey, punks’ll be punks. I’ve listened to “Girl in the Green Jacket” a few times a day every day since I first heard it – touching, humorous, and as rapid-thumping as your heart when you’re in love, lust, or jeeped on too much coffee.