The Big Coast | The Big Coast
Family Average: 5/7
Which coast? The big one of course! Well folks here we are once again hearing some tunes and thinking some thoughts. This week we pull out our brains and take a long hard look at this thing they call the big coast. These wonderful Canadian fellas are about to take us all on a magical journey! What on earth will we find along the way?
Listen along on Their Bandcamp and read on to find out:
Get ready to smile from ear to ear at your desk during an otherwise dull weekday with this debut album by The Big Coast. Between the melodies, the hooks, and the (gotta love it, always) horn section, you can tell these cats all just get along really well.
The tracks are a combination of both groove and pop, that feel different enough from the pop music we hear daily on the radio but with the cheerful beats to carry you through and get you excited to hear the next one. I particularly like “Easy Way Out”. I wish I never learned the easy way out either, guy.
It all reminded me a little of the earlier Maroon 5 days, which I dug. Lyrics that make you blush even though you know they’re not about you, and just fun fun music you can’t help but dance to. We need more music like this. Thank ya!
5/7
Want to spend a good 16 minutes smiling like how Tom Cruise does? That kind of manic uncontrollable smile only achieved after years of fame, and success? Just pop this sucker in your 8 track and get ready for the ride. Honestly though these guys really won me over. My guard is always up when it comes to this feel good kind of music. It is easy for bands like that to burn you out real quick. Not these guys though. They whip around this short EP with so much gosh darn energy you just get all caught up in it. Also as an added bonus for folks like me who like sad tunes. While they do have cheerful sounding music at it’s core the lyrics are pretty sad, yay!
Everything is so tight. From the horns jumping in, and out to the snap of that rim shot on the snare. It all feels so well timed. I was debating in my head if the practice sessions they have are fun or incredibly stressful. I suppose I will never know. Nevertheless I am impressed with the end results. I think overall my favorite aspect of the album is that it is not easygoing. Although nobody would ever call this music abrasive. It does not come off as a boring kind of easy going album. Lots of fun change ups and down right vicious rolls keep my tiny brain churning from start to end.
5/7
This is the type of music meant to be played at a big barbecue or town fair, or something equally wholesome with gingham table cloths and toddlers dancing around. And that’s not a dig! It feels like a pop takeover of some Motown influenced indie sound that would be a real crowd pleaser -- the type of music that gets you swaying and taping along, but doesn’t require any real engagement with the lyrics. Driven by an impressive rhythm section and some fantastically dizzying horns, it’s charming and energetic. However, the sing-song choruses became a little tiring -- it was a bit too much. Perhaps I was in a particularly broody mood (when am I not), so I can’t really hold it against them. Regardless, it’s sweet, it’s cheery, and it had me swaying. Do I want to listen to it again? Not particularly. Unless I am at one of the aforementioned family-friendly music festivals. It's sweet like sugar -- too much and I've got a headache. Small doses, only, i.e., I'd listen to one song, once in a while, when I needed to feel like the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and everything was happy-go-lucky hunky-dory with the world.
4/7
This group is light and breezy, but at the same time the arrangements are very concise. I was mildly impressed with the first three tracks. The Big Coast seemed to have all of the essential elements of a quality Indi-rock group, with their horns, fun music, vocals and their harmony, but i felt like something was missing. I believed that they were really good, i liked the arrangements and the lyrics; however, their carefree style seemed a bit anemic, that is until I heard the track, “Easy Way Out”. In my opinion this song is a stand out hit. This was a nice representation of current day funk.
The lead vocalist is very talented do I dare compare him to Adam Lavine? This track was so good i gave a second listen to the other tracks and I came to appreciate them even more. Well Folks, these guys are the real deal.
These peeps are a refreshing mix of good times Funk with A bit of Mot-Town, a very current representation of that genre. Thank you Big Coast for producing quality music with a winning combination of all the elements i mentioned above.
5/7 Play that Funky Music White Boys