THE BIG SLEEP
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep, a mostly instrumental trio from Brooklyn, N.Y., touches down with an uncommonly strong debut in the form of “Son of the Tiger.” The band comes crashing out of the gates with the unrelenting “Brown Beauty,” whose jet plane guitar and buzzing synth lift the song toward a dramatic, heart-pounding climax. Out of the smoldering wreck comes “Murder,” propelled by a rat-a-tat drum attack and Johnny Ramone-style hyperspeed guitar and eventually lathered with a thick, foamy wash of reverb and delay. “You Can’t Touch the Untouchable,” anchored by chest-thumping bass and a deep-in-the-pocket drum groove, is punctuated by sudden stops that heighten the building tension, including one long pause more than three minutes in that you’ll be certain is the finish line. Awesome. With “Son of the Tiger,” the Big Sleep has brewed up a stirring alchemical stew of math rock industry and emotional depth.”