BIG MESS has that hooky sing-along style that manages to melodically link the ’77 sound with Oi! while still sounding fresh. This Copenhagen band brings twelve tracks in twenty-two minutes with not a single dud, blistering relentlessly onward from the first song. This sounds like the full-length album that ONE MAN ARMY could have made right after Rumors and Headlines.
I love when a band just tosses out a strong four tracks of well-written, earnestly performed and unfussy rock‘n’roll. That’s exactly what this is, and it never fails to amaze me how refreshing that is. No pretenses, just a lot of fun with enough teeth to really bite down. I don’t think everyone realizes how much harder it is to write songs with juicy hooks in under two minutes. Most bands seem to have a problem with editing, not so with these Danes. It’s lean as you like, and a hell of a good time.
BIG MESS is actually one big, relentless, overwhelming wall of hooks…non-stop, uptempo power pop/pop-punk with contagious riffs and choruses with their own choruses. Six songs of intense desperation made for packed, sweaty, beer-soaked, arms-in-the-air shoutalong fests. This group is due a place on the shelf next to pop-punk’s catchiest tunesmiths, like JAY REATARD, the SPITS, MARKED MEN, SCREECHING WEASEL, etc. etc. Great!
