Album Review: Big Scary - Not Art

Melbourne's Big Scary have released their second album, Not Art, a release that sees a departure from the garage-rock, dream-pop stylings of their debut, Vacation, and a compelling attempt to experiment with new, unfamiliar sounds and processes.

The boy strummer, girl drummer duo (Tom Iansek and Jo Syme) have fused elements of hip hop, minimalist electronica and post-rock to create a complex and fascinating sub-genre of their own for Not Art.

From the energetic guitar thrashings on opener, Hello, My Name Is, that give way to Iansek's passionate declaration of what he isn't (“I'm not a whore wanting more/I'm not a fraction”), it's clear that Not Art is very much a personal exploration for the duo, although thankfully too dissident an exploration to come across as indulgent. With post-production largely handled by Iansek himself, the album very much sees the pair grappling back artistic control, and it's evident within their songs that their artistic process is the driving force behind Not Art.

Teaser and first single, Phil Collins – a moody track full of guitar reverb and meticulous, slow percussion – showcases Iansek's attractive vocals and the band's ability to control the tension and energy within their songs. On the experimental Luck Now, the repetitious, disjointed battering of drums that pulls the song throughout effectively balances out the sentiment within Iansek's lyrics (“See that I'm losing the heart/See that I'm losing more heart every day”). The raw honesty within Iansek's haunting vocals is perfectly counterpointed by the industrial sounds that have been sampled and looped throughout the song, and prevents it from becoming soaked in emotional sentiment.

Not Art is a compelling, complex and fascinating album to listen to. Artistic process aside, the duo has created a hauntingly beautiful album full of emotionally-charged harmonies and stunning instrumental melodies – a pure delight for anyone's ears.