Videos by American Songwriter
THE BIG PINK
A Brief History of Love
(4AD)
[Rating: 4 stars]
Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze recommend that you “consider [The Big Pink] a soul band.” A rather strange self-proclamation, considering the London-based duo grew out of noisy rehearsal experiments. Yet, A Brief History of Love bears its strong spirit atop this clamoring foundation. The immense musical landscapes that Cordell and Furze construct on songs such as “Golden Pendulum” and “At War with the Sun” are often as emotionally raw as the pained vocals that convey their stories of adolescent anguish and love. One notices the Big Pink’s influences: the Velvet Underground, The Jesus and Mary Chain and the Verve on tracks like “Love in Vain,” and “A Brief History of Love.” But this young outfit demonstrates a knack for producing timeless pop music with album standouts “Dominos” and “Velvet.” Both of those songs will rank high on the best of ‘09 lists. So should this soulful debut from one of England’s most exciting new bands.
