Before A Million Universes by Big Ups

The long awaited return album from iconic post-hardcore act Slint... oh wait a minute, that's right, it only sounds as if this album were recorded by Slint. Instead, Before A Million Universes is the second full-length release from New York based post-punk outfit Big Ups. While the four-piece band don't bother pulling any punches when it comes to showing off their influences on this record, they also look to incorporate just enough of their own sound to allow them to make this project their own.

Let me preface by saying that I personally consider Slint's Spiderland LP to be amongst the best post-hardcore albums released, and seeing a band influenced by them isn't anything new, nor do I consider it to be a bad thing. However, it becomes immediately evident on this project that it's preventing Big Ups from defining their own sound as not only are they borrowing the vocal style, but many of the guitar riffs also seemed to be pulled right out of Slint's playbook. 

Throughout the album we see frontman Joe Galarraga uses the same lo fi, raw, loud vocals that Slint's Brian McMahan brought to the post-hardcore genre to help bring the sound from quiet, slowcore indie-rock to ruthless post-hardcore onslaught. Ultimately, Galarraga does quite well with the vocal transitions, but because they seem so familiar, and are already an integral part of a such a well-known act, it's hard to not imagine you're listening to someone else when you hear them. 

The album's opener, Contain Myself is one of the better moments on the LP in my opinion, as Big Ups balance the Slint inspired spoken word quiet to loud vocal approach with some heavily distorted guitar play and a booming bass line that plays a huge role on this album. In fact, the group's prominent use of the bass guitar is easily my favorite element from this project, as I felt it was by far the most unique aspect of their sound. After we move past that track however, the album takes and more of a dive into the same borrowed elements I've already mentioned.

The latter half of Meet Where We Are, the fifth track on the record, see's the group make a bit of progress and leave the slowcore moments behind to instead deliver a crunching, hardcore influenced post-punk sound that proves they're capable of being more than a glorified cover band. Once again on this track, it's the bass guitar that not only makes for a fantastic groove, but also gives the band a very loud punk sound. 

Unfortunately, these moments of more ruthless and angered post-punk are few and far between and instead the group dedicate most songs to following the same formula laid down by their predecessors. We do see more glimpses of their real punk side on tracks like the fast-paced chanty anthems Negative and Hope for Someone, but unfortunately about a minute in they both break down into more moments of Slint worship.

For some, the way the Big Ups chose to wear their influences on their sleeves may be an intriguing element, but personally I find the borrowing from other artists to be a little bit too heavy on this album to allow it to truly click. The album plays as a tribute rather than a unique listening experience, and while their is clearly potential with the group's musicianship and songwriting, it feels like they took a step backwards from their debut album with this one. There are a couple tracks worth hearing, and I can see myself coming back a few times because at the end of the day, it is an enjoyable record, but it fails to distinguish itself in any meaningful way which leads to dismiss Big Ups as a band who really need to discover their own sound.

Rating: 3/5

Listen to Big Ups National Parks below:

You can stream or download Before A Million Universes here.