It’s a peculiar thing for me to remember 20 years ago. What makes it odd, is that from my standpoint it “seems like it was only yesterday.” Yet, as I reflect, the realization of how different things really were does set in. Bigbaldben, a multi-instrumentalist based in Pennsylvania, could possibly disagree with some of that feeling because from his standpoint he’s been aching to get back to his musical roots during that time.
However! In a similar fashion to how it feels to me, the return to being a musician is clearly embedded in his muscle memory. Just like riding a bike! He has in fact returned to music and released an album fittingly titled “Resurrection” on September 4th. bigbaldben’s haunting harmonies, slick production, and eclectic mix of metal and grunge music has resonated very well with his audiences, regularly charting in the NAS Indie Radio Top 20 week-to-week.
His music has certainly resonated with me personally as well, as his latest single “The Antidote” was added to my radio station’s Top 10 playlist at the beginning of this month, prior to the album dropping, and unbeknownst to me that there was even a full-length album right around the corner. It was a pleasant surprise, and what you’ll learn about Bigbaldben when you follow him is that he’s full of surprises, regularly dropping tunes you weren’t even aware were already on the way.
STREAM “RESURRECTION” ON SPOTIFY NOW!
bigbaldben has deployed many of the tracks on the album in a “waterfall” as individual singles leading up to the album, but with the official release of the album, you are going to get 3 new tracks: “Reticent,” “Someone Else’s Wave,” and an alternate mix-version of the latest hit single, “The Antidote.” Of particular note, “Reticent” is a pinnacle in the collection in my opinion, as it was co-written with and features his son playing guitar on the track. Not only has this new track turned out to actually be my favorite of his on the album, but I got a bit of a teaser about it during a conversation I had with Bigbaldben on my Podcast.
On a personal note, the “full circle” moment of having our kids be teenagers and collaborate with us on our music is something I deeply related to, and knowing the backstory of the track before I even heard it made it that much better.
You can check out my interview with Ben in which we discuss this and a lot more about the music industry weekly for a two-part series beginning 09-29-2023 on NAS Indie Radio (Fridays at 5am & 4pm EST); in Podcast form on AMSradio.com, and with replays Thursdays (4:20 pm) on AMS Radio. And as I mentioned before, Ben being full of surprises, when you tune in you might just get a preview of some cool stuff in the works never heard and not known about just yet!
As mentioned before, and to add more context, Ben was the lead singer of a post-grunge band during the mid-1990s, writing and recording demos until the early 2000s when he stepped away to focus on and raise his family. With his kids being older and having wider perspectives on life experiences, the album itself is thematically centered around (as Ben puts it) “an awakening and return to life and music.”
Ben did all the tracking in his basement with the exception of one drum track, and he collaborated with three different engineers on the album for final mixing and mastering virtually in London. As he re-emersed himself back into the music industry, he has also found himself fully embracing the benefits of technological advances that have happened over the last 20 years, stating:
This album is a real testament to the fantastic technological and globalization advances in the music industry!
bigbaldben’s sound is signature. He applies haunting 3-part harmonies to his vocal stylings in all of the tracks. Upon first listen, I immediately picked up a sense of Alice in Chains influence. The overall sound carries much deeper, I’ve seen him cover Megadeth on Instagram, and he credit’s Public Enemy for a lot of his sonically driven elements of the musical production. For fans of the aforementioned as well as bands like King’s X, Galactic Cowboys, and Atomic Opera, bigbaldben’s brand of guitar-driven post-grunge with a twist of Metal is highly recommended!
Don’t forget to support this project and follow bigbaldben on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify. You can also visit his linktree.
It also helps to stream and share their music; you can find it in the following Playlists: Fresh Singles, Alterindie State Of Mind, Debut Bands (Off The Radar), Sickest & Dopest, and Unknown But Essentials!
Remember that you can always find me here AMS Radio for all my social media and collaborations.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and brand-new music, subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers, and follow the Playlist with all the artists we have presented here!
If you enjoy this track don’t forget to give it a green heart when you’re on Spotify and add it to your favorite playlist. This little action not only saves the track on your music library but also will help the artist, you know that the game’s name for us is “support”. Thank you!!!
FOR MORE DEBUT ALBUMS REVIEWED CLICK HERE
This coverage was created via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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