Review by: Joe Callaghan
2009 can just go to hell. It’s turning me into a positive do-gooder, when all I want is to be jaded, and grumble about how stuff just ain’t as good as stuff used to be. But no. 2009 has seen a relentless flurry of good bands releasing great records, constantly, so much so that I’ve wanted to rave about it. Do one, 2009!
Now, for those familiar with and in favour of Big Business will know that Here Comes The Waterworks is the best fuzzy sludgy stoner rock record since Houdini (Melvins, not the magician, dick), so its descendant is going to have a lot to live up to. I’ll be honest with you. It’s not as good as Waterworks, but it’s still a grand old listen, and it’s quite different, which is certainly a good move. A solid album just shouldn’t be followed by a junior version of that record. Instead, Mind The Drift is a little less chaotic. It’s still fuzzes and grooves, but overall it’s less woolly, and opts for a cleaner approach, with a lot more guitar presence. The melodies are still absolutely massive, and the drums are just about ridiculous enough to kill you. It’s more ambitious and much more progressive, and it pays off. It is difficult to compare it to Waterworks, as that record really nailed this sort of sound which has been scantily pulled off from many a Melvins-alike outfit for many years. The presence of a rigid guitar assists the out of control bass fuzz to keep the songs tight within their structure, and for the triumphant melodies to shine. Big Business continue to swipe the favourable traits of sludgy doom metal, and leave behind the tacky imagery and needless guitar solos, providing your lug tunnels with an onslaught of muddy, filthy rock grooves a mile wide. All the usual manipulations are here. Sabbath, latter day Black Flag. Fu Manchu and the aforementioned pioneers of this sort of ghastly noise, and it’s just right bloody good.
Typical hipster metal adjectives and verbs I didn’t use: Thunderous, galloping, punishing, gnarly.