Austinist CD Review: The Big Sleep, Son of the Tiger

There are tons of bands in this world that are carried solely by the strength of their vocalist. Bands without a dominant singer face a particularly difficult challenge in having to create music that commands attention and isn't boring or just plain smooth-jazz lame. The kids of The Big Sleep --Sonya Balchandani (bass), Danny Barria (guitar), Gabriel Rhodes (drums)-- attempt to prove that they're not trying to tuck you in for the night.

A majority of their full-length debut, Son of the Tiger, shows that this kitten does have some claws. "You Can't Touch the Untouchable" features some funky beats and breaks, never assuming one form for too long. "Locomotion" is a thrilling mix of anticipation and climactic crescendos. "Shima,"one of the few tracks with recognizable vocals, is enthralling as Balchandani eerily intones through the musical ebb and flow. The sounds are akin to the acidic surf rock of The Mermen and the sandpapery charm of Mazzy Star -- this is best evidenced in "SKB."

Still, like a kitten, The Big Sleep has some growing to do. Keeping it together for an entire full-length disc proves to be a struggle as some of the songs fall flat. "Menemy" clocks in at 4:37, but becomes uninteresting after thirty seconds. This kitten, to further push the metaphor (who doesn't like a good kitten metaphor anyway?), needs to find its meow. The epic closer "New Strings" is impressive, but it's missing something. It's like surviving five minutes of a My Morning Jacket jam and Jim James's lilting vocals never come to the rescue in the final two minutes.

That's all you'll get out of us. Visit these rockers on the intertron to see if they're the band you've been looking for:

The Big Sleep (Official)
The Big Sleep (MySpace)