Big Business Here Come The Waterworks

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine and I would get together once a week at his apartment to listen to music and throw back some beers. On one such gathering of beer consumption, he put on a CD that had just been released by Big Business. I sat for a while taking in beer and the sounds of Head For The Shallow and after two or three songs, I was already a fan. Since that one night, I've been a regular listener of Big Business and also a huge fan of their live show. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to find a promo of Here Come the Waterworks in my latest Lambgoat package. With their second full-length, the duo of Big Business uses a very similar musical approach to Head For The Shallow. The warm, distorted tone of Jared Warren's bass still drags these songs kicking and screaming, while Coady Willis' manic drumming is just as dynamic as ever. For the most part, the song structures are fluid and always interesting. One complaint would be the last track, "Another Beautiful Day in the Pacific Northwest," which is a slower dirge of a song. It's not bad, but it's definitely not as powerful and driving as the rest of these songs. Big Business is a band with palpable energy and personality, which I've always thought pushes these songs. Here Come the Waterworks has songs that have even more energy than before. As whole, this album is a bit catchier than the previous record. Some of this may be attributed to the vocal performance. It sounds as if this time around Jared Warren spent some more time on this end, because there is more harmonizing, a few more harsh screams, and higher ranges. I never thought his vocals were lacking, but I'm surprisingly impressed with this performance. Meanwhile, enough can't be said about Coady Willis' drumming. This guy is all over the place, but never so much that it outshines the entire song. I love everything about the drumming on this album, from the fills to the natural snap in the drum tones. These guys get more power out of a drum kit and a bass guitar than most 5-piece bands do. So while this album is definitely catchier, it is still ferociously heavy. Bottom Line: If you like heavy rock and roll and haven't listened to Big Business, then you need to get your ass off your shoulders and make it happen. Here Come the Waterworks, in my humble opinion, is every bit as good as Head For The Shallow. If you are already a fan, you are going to pleased. If you aren't, you should be.