Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
A nervy, fractured blast of millennial unease, Before a Million Universes, the sophomore studio long player from the Big Apple-based punk/post-hardcore quartet, is as fiery as it is laconic, invoking names like Fugazi, Gallows, the Pixies, and even, to a lesser extent, early Pavement. Big Ups' 2013 debut, the seething Eighteen Hours of Static, offered up a vital, yet familiar sounding amalgam of early-'80s socio-political punk and elliptic, early-'90s lo-fi American underground indie rock. Before a Million Universes does much of the same, but with a more progressive bent. The former NYU tech students' vocational chops are on full display throughout the album's just-over-40-minute run time, and vocalist Joe Galarraga's nonchalant mumble/full-on Ian MacKaye-inspired howl lends weight/restraint where needed with surprising efficacy. Yes, this is classic loud/quiet/loud stuff. Early standouts like "Contain Myself" and "Capitalize" excel on all fronts, teasing melodies out into the open and then taking them down with a precision headshot. Further in, the propulsive and punitive "Negative" is prefaced by a dreamy instrumental intro that's awash in bucolic major sevenths, and the surprisingly affecting "National Parks" dials back on the capitalism takedowns and turns down the spotlight on social injustice in favor of a more personal narrative that sees Galarraga singing the praises of the single mother who raised him. That everything segues into each other helps Before a Million Universes transcend its less immediate moments, which are luckily peppered throughout as opposed to corralled together in one big miasmic cluster, but even those sonic aberrations are largely economical. A smart young band in an increasingly dumbed-down world, Big Ups may have found their voice in the past, but they're clearly swinging for a brighter future.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 12,49€/month
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Big Ups, MainArtist - Brendan Finn, Composer, MusicPublisher - Amar Lal, Composer, MusicPublisher - Carlos Salguero, Composer, MusicPublisher - Joseph Galarraga, Composer, MusicPublisher
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Albumbeschreibung
A nervy, fractured blast of millennial unease, Before a Million Universes, the sophomore studio long player from the Big Apple-based punk/post-hardcore quartet, is as fiery as it is laconic, invoking names like Fugazi, Gallows, the Pixies, and even, to a lesser extent, early Pavement. Big Ups' 2013 debut, the seething Eighteen Hours of Static, offered up a vital, yet familiar sounding amalgam of early-'80s socio-political punk and elliptic, early-'90s lo-fi American underground indie rock. Before a Million Universes does much of the same, but with a more progressive bent. The former NYU tech students' vocational chops are on full display throughout the album's just-over-40-minute run time, and vocalist Joe Galarraga's nonchalant mumble/full-on Ian MacKaye-inspired howl lends weight/restraint where needed with surprising efficacy. Yes, this is classic loud/quiet/loud stuff. Early standouts like "Contain Myself" and "Capitalize" excel on all fronts, teasing melodies out into the open and then taking them down with a precision headshot. Further in, the propulsive and punitive "Negative" is prefaced by a dreamy instrumental intro that's awash in bucolic major sevenths, and the surprisingly affecting "National Parks" dials back on the capitalism takedowns and turns down the spotlight on social injustice in favor of a more personal narrative that sees Galarraga singing the praises of the single mother who raised him. That everything segues into each other helps Before a Million Universes transcend its less immediate moments, which are luckily peppered throughout as opposed to corralled together in one big miasmic cluster, but even those sonic aberrations are largely economical. A smart young band in an increasingly dumbed-down world, Big Ups may have found their voice in the past, but they're clearly swinging for a brighter future.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:42:27
- Main artists: Big Ups
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Tough Love Records
- Genre: Electronic
(C) 2016 Tough Love Records (P) 2016 Tough Love
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.