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Audio Mixer: Tom Elmhirst. Recording information: Airlock Studio; Metung, East Gippsland; Mixed Business, Melbourne; STratosphere Sound, New York, NY; The Ark, Brisbane; The Landen Manor. Photographer: Adam Stone . Australian duo Big Scary's sophomore full-length album, 2014's Not Art, showcases the band's melodic, atmospheric, and stylistically varied sound. It follows up the duo's 2011 album, Vacation, and expands upon that album's more ruminative vibe with a dose of catchy, somewhat dance-leaning material. Whether it's flirting with anthemic '80s noise rock à la the Jesus and Mary Chain, or kicking out some contemporary indie electronic dance jams à la MGMT, Big Scary's Tom Iansek and Joanna Syme make passionate music that often sounds bigger and more robust than their duo designation might imply. All of which is to say that while all of the songs on Not Art flow together quite well, it's hard to pin Big Scary down to one style. Tracks like the opening "Hello, My Name Is" and the raucous "Belgian Blues" are gigantic, drama-fueled rockers that build and swell as much as any Ocean Rain-era Echo and the Bunnymen single. Elsewhere, Big Scary evince a fractured, intimate quality, and cuts like the digital, breakbeat-influenced "Luck, Now" and the breezy, melancholy "Twin Rivers" lean more toward the languid, cinematic adult contemporary sound of Peter Gabriel. In that sense, Big Scary also fit nicely alongside such similarly inclined bands as Canada's Young Galaxy, Portland's Viva Voce, and New Zealand's the Naked and Famous. After listening to Not Art, it's easy to see why the album, released in Australia in 2013, received several accolades including winning the Triple J Australian Album of the Year award, the Best Independent Release at the ARIAs, and the AIR Awards Best Independent Album. Simply put, Big Scary are scary good. ~ Matt Collar
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