Album Review: The Big Moon - 'Here Is Everything'
The Big Moon return with indie-folk confessional tales of the fear and excitement of motherhood.
“Here is Everything” is the Londoner’s third studio album, written in the depth of lockdown in 2020 whilst live music took an extended break from our lives. Spending most of her time teaching guitar online, frontwoman Juliette Jackson ended up becoming a mother during these difficult times, with this record serving as a revelation of her experience throughout this adventure.
The album kicks off with luscious guitar tones and intricate textures on “2 Lines”, revealing a sense of maturity and growth within the group’s approach to production. Rolling through sounds of delay feedback, unusual synthesiser patches which accentuate an attention to oscillation and how it fits within their work, and broad backing vocals which vibrate through the mix, a new layer of the band’s personality reveals itself almost immediately.
“Wide Eyes”, one of the singles released prior to the album, displays the intimate lyricism of Jackson and how superbly the rest of the group accompany these confessions. Swinging back and forth between modern pop and rock influences, the instrumentation progresses seamlessly along the record as piano segments and different electronic sounds are introduced in the slow building ballads “Daydreaming” and “Suckerpunch”.
The ascendancy of a folk ambience is clear to hear at this point in the record as the partnership with producer Ben Allen becomes conspicuous, as resemblances to the four-piece's 2020 release “Walking Like We Do” along with other prestigious acts Allen has worked with such as Deerhunter become clear.
“My Very Best” is another highlight on this record, as distorted ambience slowly rushes in a sweet minor piano progression which adds to the sentiment of Jackson’s lyricism and vocal performance, before the introduction of an even sweeter lead guitar reveals a new coating of warmth that pastes the instrumentation together nicely.
The honest words of Jackson throughout this album make it a very comforting listen, as the passion and hard work of the band really comes through. Lyrics that stand out such as “I don’t have the right words to sing, but know love is in this song hiding” on High and Low, and “I wonder which part of me my kids are going to hate” on closing track Satellites are a testament to the openness and honesty on display.
For a group still so early into their musical career, there is a sense of maturity and cohesiveness that grows larger with every new release of theirs over the past five years. “Here Is Everything” is, so far, the most memorable demonstration of this.
Words by Jay Cohen
