by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
In the years since the demise of Chicago trio Geronimo!, the three members have stayed busy making music, putting the love of playing above all else. They haven’t done press campaigns and they haven’t done much touring (for the most part), but they’ve continued to play together in projects like Milked and Future Biff, aside from their many other projects apart (Whelpwisher, Babe Report, etc). In that time Ben Grigg (who played keys in Geronimo!) has really found his voice as a songwriter and vocalist, amassing a brilliant catalog of fuzzy alternative should-be hits. Now, seven years after the release of Geronimo!’s final EP, the trio of Grigg, Kelly Johnson, and Matt Schwerin have come together once again, with a new project, Big Big Bison. The trio finds Schwerin resuming his drum duties, while Johnson has moved over to bass, and Grigg to guitar and vocals, but instrumental changes aside the chemistry is felt throughout their self-titled debut EP. Due out August 12th, Big Big Bison emerge fully formed, with a set of songs brimming with nuance and big ol’ fuzzy bliss.
While the EP packs a lot of different sounds and styles into its essential 22 minutes, melding expansive post-hardcore, syrupy fuzz pop, and even a touch of AM gold, “Bruiser,” is well… a bruiser of a track. This one shreds, frying braincells with a muscular sludge and impenetrable density. It’s not really representative of the record as a whole, but it undoubtedly rips, and if nothing else signifies you’re in for a good time with Big Big Bison. Guitars bend and warble into the stoniest of pastures while Schwerin and Johnson absolutely slam the rhythm into existence, pounding every beat into dust beneath the weight of it all. Even as the band surge and destroy, Grigg’s vocal melody is a downright delight, creating a memorable hook to sit amid the carnage.