Controversial, sure, but take bands like Two Door Cinema Club, Sundara Karma or Foster The People - their first albums were so groundbreaking that it's nigh on impossible to improve on this, leading to the rest of their discography oft being overshadowed. With a debut record as seminal as 2017’s Love In The 4th Dimension, you’d think The Big Moon had left themselves no breathing room. But this is where we find ourselves with an exception to the rule.
Half a decade later and on their third record, The Big Moon showcase their best efforts in Here Is Everything. Championing close-knit sisterhood and growing together as individuals, the quartet’s latest sonic feat is a welcome, refreshing, stripped-back take on their staple indie-rock sound.
The first single to be lifted from the album and released of its own accord, “Wide Eyes” is a glittering anthem of finding the light amidst burnouts and exhaustion in the chaos of new motherhood. Wholly personal of lead singer Juliette Jackson’s new journey into motherhood, the cut acted as an outlet for the artist who was yearning to create a project of pure joy whilst being tugged down by unrelenting exhaustion (as seen in the overt juxtaposition of “And I want to dance / And I want to cry”).
This honest narrative finds itself veined throughout, lyrics such as “How does my head not split / With what’s inside of it” (“2 Lines”), “Oh what a day / Scratching my head” (“Suckerpunch”), speak on struggles and feeling existentially lost. The more stripped back cuts “2 Lines” and the almost instrumental “This Love” offer a welcome familiarity and comfort as they showcase Jackson’s lush vocal performance, where “Trouble” with its sultry bass highlights the group’s ability to construct a stunning instrumental display.
The lilting romance of “Suckerpunch” takes The Big Moon’s sound in a slightly different direction, with an almost country-infused backdrop that features crooning and fuzzy vocal intonations that cite an air of nostalgia. The remnants of this can be found hidden in the corners of final track “Satellites” which closes the record on a final introspective note on motherhood.
Overall, on their third record, The Big Moon stay true to their title and lay bare all that they have. They’ve shown us their rawest moments and the deepest parts of their psyche and said, simply, “Here is everything”.
