The Big Moon

THE BIG MOON

As I'm currently attempting to read Jack Kerouac's 'On The Road' for the fourth time this last year and make it past chapter five, a feat I am sadly yet to achieve, it means that like always seems to happen whenever I attempt to read said book, I am instead reading everything and anything except said book. Normally this frustrates me, as I really do want to read the whole entire book, however last night was an exception. Last night, in an attempt to avoid reading 'On The Road' (don't even ask me why I can't seem to sit and read it, because honestly I do not have a clue), I decided I would read the latest edition of free music publication 'Loud and Quiet', which I picked up from Rough Trade Nottingham the other week. Normally I forget to read most of the publications I pick up on my travels, but because of said reading dilemma, last night was an exception, and boy am I glad it occurred because reading the rather great 'Loud and Quiet' meant I subsequently discovered the brilliant, new, all female composed British indie band, The Big Moon. And boy am I glad I did.

Earlier this year when all the major festival line ups were being released, after reading various responsive articles I too came to realise that there seemed to be a real notable lack of female artists making the cut. Now don't get me wrong here, as I am a complete advocate that music should not be discriminated by gender but by its quality instead. However it did get me thinking that currently in music genres aside from pop, such as rock and indie especially, the depth and breadth of new female talent emerging on to the mainstream music scene and actually sticking around seems alarmingly shallow, in comparison to that of our male counterparts. I could easily give you a three page list of current male artists and bands off the top of my head, but when it comes to female artists I'm often left stumped. And as someone with a particular weakness for any kind of music except pop, the genre which most famous female artists are associated with, I find I want to support these women but can't truly as I don't fully connect with their music. It isn't the kind of music I love to listen to, and it's frustrating because I want to support women in the music industry, but I want to hear them making the kind of music that I love and want to hear. Where are the other women making absolutely fantastic folk music, rock music, indie music, electro music, and everything in between? The ones showing that women can make just as dazzling, artfully crafted, exciting real music as men, the ones that inspire you to really pick up a musical instrument and explore music, the ones that are up there showing us girls that we can do that, be that too. Because I know they're out there existing somewhere, but often there's a lack of media exposure and support, so we don't tend to hear about them like we would for their equivalent male counterparts. And it's incredibly frustrating, but simultaneously that's what makes it so very, very exciting when bands like The Big Moon manage to defy this, overcome this, and suddenly burst onto the music scene in a big blaze of sound, energy and promise. 

When I discovered the article about The Big Moon, I honestly felt so excited to have finally found the name of an up and coming, all female band that seemed to be making music that I really wanted to listen to. It's felt like such a long time since I felt genuinely excited about finding new female artists, with the last being Haim way back in 2012. The girls in The Big Moon, Jules, Fern, Soph and Celia, reminded me of people I might see around uni. They seemed like me, they were people I could really relate to, and here they were in a music magazine talking about their passion for music. Here they were talking about how they'd done something I've often dreamed of doing, and picked up their music instruments, got together, found a name and distinctive sound for themselves and started an incredibly promising and talented new band. As a girl who loves every aspect of music, from making it, listening to it, discovering it, to see other girls my own age picking up their instruments, forming a band, seeing what happens, making incredibly good music and actually being recognised and supported by the media thus far, is something I find so inspiring. And that awe only increased after I listened to the girls' music online this morning in a haste to hear what their sound was. 

The music The Big Moon make is so energetic, distinctive, well crafted, magical even, with every element from the guitars, bass, drums, vocals, added synths and sounds being so tightly interlocked with one another. It's like a majestic, gleaming machine, the four girls and their talents submerged together. So well put together, working like a dream, churning out music that is so easy to listen to and yet full of little intricacies and details that take it to another level. The Big Moon take hold of their instruments and almost breathe new life into them, expertly intertwining the sounds to produce music that's full of youth, attitude, confidence. Its makers knowing full well that they are damn good at what they do, that their voice and sound deserves to be heard, recognised, that they're producing a sound that is so definitively theirs. It's just so wonderful to hear. The Big Moon naturally conjure comparisons with other bands, and for me personally I hear elements of bands like The Pretty Reckless, Nirvana, The Vaccines, PVRIS, a crisper version of Alvvays, and of course Palma Violets, a big inspiration to the band, and yet their sound really is so unique. And having only known each other for a year, to have four strangers come together in such a perfect way, and together produce the level, quality and depth of music that The Big Moon have done so far, it's a true testament to how special this band is. As does it add further excitement about the quality of music they'll be producing in even a year's time, let alone the burgeoning, bright scope of their future progression. But aside from that, I think that one of the nicest things about The Big Moon is that friendship is the underlying core that binds the four band members together. At the end of the day they're four down to earth London gals (though Fern is proudly Welsh) having the time of their lives, living out their dreams and supporting one another throughout it all. They're the best kind of girl gang, and as a listener you feel like you can be a part of that special group too, join The Big Moon on their journey.

So even if having read this you're still sat wondering whether or not you should venture to Spotify or You Tube to check The Big Moon out, wondering it they'll be any good, wondering if you'll actually like their sound, I strongly, strongly urge you to do so. They're real girls making real music and doing it so mesmerizingly well. Often when you write about music, it's hard to truly translate a sound into words, it's hard to convey just how fantastic a band and their sound really are. You can try your best, but the ultimate way to really experience music is to seek it out and listen to it yourself, judge for yourself. The Big Moon is one of those bands. Words won't ever really do them justice, no matter how hard I try. So I guess I'll conclude by using my words to say that if you're excited about the future of music, if you want to listen to women showing how music is done, or if you even want to listen to something new, The Big Moon are one moon you really want to be hopping on your rocket to. They may be taking one small step for girls in the music industry, but they're taking one humongous step for girlkind. And that is quite simply marvellous.

You can find out more about The Big Moon here, catch them on tour with Ezra Furman on his Autumn 2015 UK tour and listen to their debut single Sucker below!