earlier this week, we were treated to big fang’s first single, “who knows you” in all of its glory. today, big fang releases their debut ep, human distance, a three-song blast of retro guitar-forward power pop. but what if i told you “who knows you” isn’t even the ep’s best track? check it out here.
to recap: big fang is the new band led by tony mascolo, who you may have seen/heard from spectral fangs. that band dissolved late last year, but mascolo recruited a band of talented players (and creative musicians in their own right) to really hit the ground running. the band is rounded out with grayson jeffries on guitar (will grayson), chris otero on bass (so sorry), and jacob doherty on drums (lea). and all together, you’ll get a little of all of their respective influences: jeffries’ cool guitar jangle, the strong thump of otero’s bass, the bristling energy of doherty. and all of that is bound up by mascolo’s knack for melody and the band’s collective harmonies.
and while a track-by-track recap is not something that i am normally inclined to do, i want to point out my favorite moments of each song:
“frame”. so there are actually two moments that are vying for “favorite status” here. the opening 10 seconds are glorious — an ascending guitar riff allows the bass guitar to enter. it’s such a beautiful touch, and it feels like the listener is gently dropping into human distance rather than being thrown into it. the other part i love is the chorus — and while that’s true for most songs, i really dig the minor chord progression that gives it a sense of un-resolve. it’s like each bar promises the next.
“emergency”. all right, so in this song, there’s a clear winner. to be explicit: this is my favorite song on human distance, but there’s a few measures here that are just outstanding. go ahead and take a listen to it, and tell me if they stand out to you too. did you go take a listen, or are you just humoring me? the moment in question is the middle-8, starting around 2:00. it’s an urgent call: “this human distance is all the same / it’s on again / it’s off again,” that sums up the ep and really just sends the song into overdrive.
“who knows you“. my favorite moment on this one is a combination of two pieces. after the first prechorus, a lead guitar gives us a tasteful solo, and that pulls us into the second verse, where mascolo sounds at his most comfortable (and loosest) on human distance. that looseness expresses the melancholy wonderfully, and for an ep where control and tightness is given a premium, this angle is a great decision for a final track.
human distance is available now, and it’s less than 10 minutes long, so don’t tell me you don’t have time to hear it. i saw you browse through your netflix looking for something to watch longer than that just the other day.
