Tom Iansek and Jo Syme pressed pause on Big Scary to focus on other musical/record label projects for a while.
Reconvening in 2019, they pondered, “What is Big Scary?” And Iansek proposed, “It is the music made by me and you.”
Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
Me And You, their fifth LP, sees Big Scary bringing intimate recollections to life, sometimes charting the course of a burgeoning relationship – from heady infatuation to disillusionment then commitment – within a single song (‘Devotion’).
The intoxicating waltz rhythm of opener ‘F.A.’ evokes Kate Bush’s ‘Army Dreamers’. “I’m melting away as you rush through your morning/ Forget our sweet nothings/ Alone in your kitchen/ Denying me is your daily ritual/ Coffee and crumbs and a coating of lipstick…” – delivered in delicious, cooing unison by Iansek and Syme, enthralling lyrics give voice to innermost thoughts.
The melancholy, piano-led ‘In My View’ channels Coldplay’s ‘Trouble’: “Must be hard for you/ Living in my view.” For ‘Real Love’, instrumentation swells to incorporate a choir, strings and horns before a whistling refrain completes the hopeful picture: “This could feel like real love.”
“Standing with my dick in my hand/ I’m let down/ Now I’m just alone” – ‘Goodbye Earle Street’, during which glockenspiel masterfully echoes the grand piano melody, navigates confusion and heartbreak.
Big Scary somehow capture the beauty, fragility and sorrow of humanity through their songwriting. An all-encompassing, sometimes-tearful listening experience. Headphones recommended.
Label: Pieater/Inertia
