Consisting of singer MESA, guitarist ARI JOSHUA, bassist SANDY, and drummer BARRETT MARTIN (of SCREAMING TREES, MAD SEASON, and TUATARA fame), BIG HIGH is the latest incarnation in a long line of great Northwest bands that trace their origins back to the foundational principles of classic Seattle rock.

Long time Seattle-ite PETER BUCK of REM also makes a guest appearance on four of the album tracks, shouldering guitar duties on the songs Whispers, Symptoms Of The Sun, Blacks And Blues, and Could She Be.

Built around great songwriting, and a heavy yet ascending element to their music, their debut album showcases a band that has the ability to write a great song and then deliver it with a thunderous bolt that hasn’t been heard in rock and roll since the heavy days of the 1990s. Produced by drummer Barrett Martin, the album starts off with the rolling, tribal groove of Cold Dark Garden, and then builds in momentum with three uptempo rockers; LSH, Atoms In Formation, and Right Brain. Midway through the album, the band shows its use of dynamics and subtlety by collapsing into the calmer waters of Whispers, and Symptoms Of The Sun. The second half of the album builds again with the street tough messages of Black and Blues and Chemicals, before a final ascent into the darkly beautiful Angel Devil, Could She Be, and the explosive Possessions.

BIG HIGH’S debut album was released on June 15th through the band’s label, Big High Music, and is distributed by Portland based Burnside Distribution. Already at work on their second album to follow on the heels of this debut, Big High is playing select shows around the Northwest and down the West Coast as they prepare for a full American tour in 2011.

http://www.myspace.com/bighighmusic

http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-big-high-big-high/
http://www.seattleshowgal.com/new-music-preview-big-high-cd-release/
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