A quick bit of internet research has shown me that (apparently) 5 of the 10 most commonly used words in popular music at the moment are ‘girl,’ ‘boy,’ ‘love,’ ‘yeah’ and ‘baby.’ You won’t find any of those words in the lyrics of ‘Obliterate’ by ‘Big Mother Gig.’
The band have avoided going for the same themes that many bands go for (not that there’s anything wrong with that… I enjoy a good love song as much as the next person) and have tackled a much bigger issue, namely trying to understand the anger of white America, who the band observe to be teetering on the edge of violence.
Musically, the muted single guitar that introduces the song gives no hint towards the heavy grunge riffs that are to follow. The first verse feels like it’s building to something and we don’t have to wait for long before we reach a pre-chorus that just feels huge, almost as if it’s reflecting the anger and chaos of the song’s subject matter.
The song was written following the Parkland, FL shooting and the lyrics cleverly attempt to understand what may be causing the anger and frustration of people, whilst not excusing or glorifying it in any way. What seems to come through in the song is the confusion, with lyrics such as ‘my friends all think I’m bluffing and I wasn't sure myself until the cops showed up by the dozen, flashing lights and battering rams come roaring through the door.’
“Obliterate’ is a song of many parts: it starts with the muted guitar leading to a subtle verse, a big, riff-laden pre-chorus, a rocky chorus and it eventually ends with a crescendo of guitars and drums, led by piercing lead guitar, which again seems angry and chaotic.
If you like old-fashioned rock/grunge with big guitars and heavy riffs as well as songs which have something meaningful to say, ‘Obliterate’ is well worth a listen.
Los Angeles-based/Milwaukee-bred power pop rockers BIG MOTHER GIG returned in 2017 after a 20-year hiatus with “Almost Primed”, an EP of 6 hard-hitting songs praised by ALTERNATIVE PRESS, PASTE, NEW NOISE, IMPOSE, ALLTHINGSGO, SUBSTREAM, PURE GRAIN AUDIO and more. Recorded by Jeff Hamilton (Violent Femmes) and Dan Long (Local Natives, Spiral Stairs), the EP’s singles “Alvarado” and “Nametag” were well-received with specialty and college radio airplay and impressive streaming numbers topping 350K.
In 2018, the band prepped a series of singles. “The Great Heist”, released in January, was premiered by NEW NOISE and received critical acclaim while racking up solid streaming numbers driven by playlisting success. “(Let’s Make) Compelling Content” debuted on SiriusXM by Rodney Bingenheimer and quickly charted at #7 on the FMQB Submodern Radio Chart. It was named Song Of The Day by NPR/The Current and a Peaking Lights remix was premiered by UNDER THE RADAR.
Support Big Mother Gig on:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/bigmothergig/
Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/big-mother-gig
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/bigmothergig/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/bigmothergig
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz2pSvjjrF6UivBL-w10H3w
![Mandy James [Guest Author]](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/?s=20&d=identicon&r=g){kind=avatar}
Love this review, great tracks too! You’re going to love listening to Molars’ new stuff!
This is awesome. Exactly what I needed for a Monday a.m. Dan Long did it again. Really, he has had me since Local Natives. and when he did the Scott Kannberg’s solo work. This band hits hard and I dig it.
I love hard-hitting music and this song does not disappoint! I absolutely love the vocals and meaning behind the lyrics! I hadn’t heard of this band before, but I will definitely be keeping up with them now! Congrats to big mother gig for a great song!