Big Business – Head for the Shallow (Hydra Head)
Wonderful, bombastic, riff centric hard rock. This is mostly a duo comprised of Coady Willis (Murder City Devils/Dead Low Tide) on drums and vocals, and Jared Warren (Karp/Tight Bros.) on bass and vocals. There are guest guitars on a handful of tracks. This record looks at hardrock/metal in a way that bands like the Fucking Champs do, it takes the idea but makes it their own. Amazing riffs on bass and guitar and head banging heavy. This has a lot in common with Karp and the Whip, a few sounds like the Melvins at their better moments.
1. Starts with whistling. Straightforward driving bass with the very distinct vocals, which show up on the whole album. Noisy noodle-ing guitar in the background and somehow this track reminds me of good solo-Ozzy tracks.
**2. Starts slow with a slight stoner rock sound and another great bass riff. Menacing with a scream of “take my advice, don’t come any closer”.
3. A bit heavier and slower and a bit more math rock but with just bass and drums.
**4. Faster with more straightforward drumming. Somewhat funny lyrics as well, “keep with your digging, we’re looking for fossils, hopefully someday we’ll find the missing link”.
**5. Holy Crap! An amazing guitar riff/vocal trade off and head banging driving bass/drums. There is something ominous and creepy about the track that makes it wonderful.
**6. Catchier and more vocal centric. “Make…mine…black….don’t go easy”.
7. Rock-n-roll but heavy and relentless. The guitar plays a simple riff in the background and there is repeated vocal line. There is somewhat of a break with what sounds like keyboards and more of the repeated line.
8. Slow and heavy to begin, goes through a couple changes but doesn’t go to far.
One of the best hard rock records of 2005! -mph