Big|Brave – Nature Morte Review

It has taken some time for me to warm up to Big|Brave’s brand of noise/drone/doom. I didn’t love 2017’s Ardor, but it did pique my interest. Minimalist formalism in music doesn’t offend me the same way it does others, but their single-chord experiments didn’t resonate at the time. Still, the pairing of Robin Wattie’s waif-ish vocals with heavy drone was something new, so I kept an eye out for them. I warmed up to the stark elegance on follow-up A Gaze Among Them, but it wasn’t until Leaving None But Small Birds, their collaboration with The Body, that the appeal became revelatory. That album combined hypnotic heaviness with lyrical and formal elements of Appalachian folk in ways deeply satisfying to AMG’s resident Americana superfan. Wattie’s voice is often compared—fairly—to Bjork’s, but it’s just as evocative of the early 20th century John and Alan Lomax recordings of The Carter Family, or even more so, Texas Gladden. Digging into the folk material proved inspirational for Wattie and her bandmates. They state Nature Morte is a progression informed by Leaving None But Small Birds, and I completely agree. 

The Body being the relentless collaborators they are, it’s easy to see how a project with them can change a band’s approach to their craft. That said, Big|Brave don’t sound any closer to their Portland-based buddies on Nature Morte. The influence that does come through clearly at times is mid-career Earth. “The One Who Bornes a Heavy Load” begins with a minute and a half of jittering clangs and thunderous drums before suddenly dropping into a solemn, slow march of elegiac guitar twang and tom strikes as Wattie incants over the swells of feedback. The following instrumental track “My Hope Renders Me a Fool” feels like a lost The Bees Made Honey In the Lion’s Skull cut with its rhythmically tethered distortion blooming suddenly into conspicuously pretty folk guitar plucking. This isn’t to say Big|Brave have become derivative. Among the new subtle Americana flourishes, the band also doubles down on carving out negative space with the spartan compositions they’re known for. Guitars remain distinct from each other no matter how huge the sound grows, while the steady drumming of Tasy Hudson is as notable for both what it is and isn’t doing.

The most impressive thing about Nature Morte is its meticulous construction. No matter how sparse it gets, no matter how repetitive the drum strikes or how loose the guitar squall, there’s no wasted space. None of the three out of six tracks that stretch past nine minutes feel remotely that long thanks to well-placed transitions, hypnotic rhythms and the commanding presence of Wattie’s vocals. Opener “Carvers, Farriers and Knaves” is the tensest piece of music we’ve heard in 2023, like a dam being systematically opened and closed to relieve and build pressure while Wattie gives the most unbridled performance she’s set to record. Just as meticulous is the album structure, bisected into matching sequences of two songs featuring hypnotic intensity punctuated by a third shorter, relaxed, folk-inflected track. It’s a rare case of similarities between tracks feeling like variations on a theme rather than unnecessary repetition.

I won’t pretend this isn’t difficult material. Drone adjacent metal, even as structured as this, is certainly not for everyone, and Wattie’s unique voice is more acquired taste than usual here. I’ve mentioned her unrestrained delivery on the album opener, but even in her gentler moments, as on impressive advance track “The Fable of Subjugation,” there’s an edge of instability keeping the listener from relaxing. By the time her jarring delivery on “A Parable of the Trusting” rolls around, the strident keening she unleashes strategically throughout Nature Morte has taken its toll. And here’s the thing: this is a sign of the record’s success. The vocals fit the intensely personal lyrical investigations of trauma from a female perspective. “The Fable of Subjugation” may borrow aesthetics from folk love balladry, but it lays out an uncomfortable picture of romantic possession and latent violence. It’s fitting, as so many traditional songs end with a woman’s death.

Big|Brave deliver a stunning, unique statement on Nature Morte. Without changing the core of the band’s sound, it signals a remarkable refinement of vision a decade into their existence. They’ve always been known as minimalists performing at maximal volume, but the power conveyed in both the loudest and quietest moments here are something special.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Thrill Jockey Records
Websites: bigbrave.ca | facebook.com/bigbravemusic
Releases Worldwide: February 24th, 2023