The Big Moon are not just a great girl band. They are a great band full stop. They are fast developing into writers and players of deliciously infectious punk-pop-rock music that burrows inside you like a leech and sucks out your diseased melancholy. These London bloodletters said it first: they are “suckers for you”. Here you encounter four have-a-laugh friends whose delectable performances make you want to be on tour with them in their band. Yes, they happen to be girls, and yes they are attractive, but that is all by the by. The most important thing is not the gender they were born into but the sounds they create, the impact that it has on your musical psyche.  While Fern holds everything together in undeviating, tip–top time at the back of the stage, the other three chuckle and prance their way seamlessly through their glorious set. Celia’s bass runs are accompanied by a grin that stretches from the Atlantic to the North Stages as she larks around with Jules. Soph, meanwhile, chuckles and looks at the others between riffs, sharing with Celia the song introductions and the frequent expressions of gratitude to the city of Liverpool. You know what? These girls are either living in a permanent Eureka Moment, have sampled something that is not of the musical sampling variety, or have purchased some of those Japanese Cupid thingees that shake your very core to jelly.

Today they are playing in Liverpool, deep in the heart of musical rock history, and it would not be misplaced to liken some of their characteristics to those four mop tops who conquered the world: strong melodic hooks, deeply entrenched musicality, repeated singalong lines and boundless energy. Finally, add to this mix the infectious laughter and humour that permeates their photo- and audio-genic stage presence, the interviews they give, and the highly creative videos that grace Youtube.

They have aptly described their music as “rough and ready pop” and “slacker rock.” They exude a laid back, unpretentious, take-us-as-you-find-us, girl-next-door understatement, whilst at the same time possessing a burgeoning musical sophistication cloaked in undoubted talent. Why would you need to go over the top with excessive make-up and finery when your music shouts so loudly to the world?

This gig is like Four Non Blondes having a melodic grungefest at a late May garden party. They play their latest single, Cupid, songs from The Road EP, ending with debut single, Sucker, stopping off to pay homage to Madonna (“Madge”) with a Mooned-up cover of Beautiful Stranger. Looking round, it is clear that The Big Moon are a precious new discovery for lots of this Liverpool audience but some have come lyrically and vocally equipped to sing along with Cupid, The Road, Nothing Without You and Sucker. Nothing Without You opens with a driving intro that the Ramones or the New York Dolls could have penned, but the band are already expert at dynamics and slow things down into a broody atmospheric soup before ripping it up once more into pieces of priceless post punk purity. Similarly, Eureka Moment toys with your musical emotions, pulling you backwards and forwards at break neck speed, speeding you down and slowing you up. You are chasing the roadrunner, the hare and the tortoise as they drum and riff their way past you into the heart of festival season.

The Big Moon catalogue contains anything from up tempo punk to chilled back grunge, all done in a very melodic way of course. Meanwhile the B-side to Cupid, Something Beautiful is pure black and white movie heaven, a dreamy, sultry, Space-like composition, a melange of sustained organ chords and runs, laid back beats, deep resonant vocals and subtle bass encased in retro cinematic bliss.

Mark my words, there is a moon that’s big and bright. This group is surely going places fast, scoring Eddie Stobart points as they go and your over-riding instinct is to want to hang on to their flowery shirt tails and race there with them as they laugh and joke their way from venue to venue. You might just be singing, “I never thought that you would become my greatest friend” as you embark on your whistle-stop journey with them. You will not be alone in feeling the need to start having your daily pineapple juice fix.

 

The Big Moon are:

Juliette Jackson-lead vocals and guitar, Fern Ford-drums, Celia Archer– bass and vocals, Soph Nathan– lead guitar and vocals

Follow on Twitter: @commoonicate    Facebook: commoonicate

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/0KU55rzxAihPhi27MAuz9O

Itunes: buy the Cupid single and The Big Road EP

Tour details: see Facebook or https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/the-big-moon

 

 

Words and pictured by Si ©Cre8ivation