Brighton’s eight-piece art-rock collective Big Long Sun are impossible not to love – not least because, as they joke, love itself is their “secret ingredient”
Big Long Sun are less a band than a meticulously crafted art project: their music – written, recorded and produced by Jamie Broughton — pulses with hypnotic layers, drenched in colour, and their grandiose live shows remain unrivalled in Brighton’s fiercely competitive scene.
Formed less than a year ago, the group has already unleashed their second album with MIOHMI Records, Whatever (Whatever) — a delirious clash of Stereolab’s motorik drive and Of Montreal’s technicolour pop, with shades of Homeshake and Snapped Ankles flickering at the edges. Or, as Jamie puts it, “music made for people to lose themselves to”.
The album thrives on tension: songs pile up like a kitchen-sink cacophony of clashing emotions, threatening to derail at any moment. But just as the mania peaks, it all melts away, plunging you into a dreamlike calm; such as in the opening track, ‘To Fold’, where it’s snare-locked motorik pulse flecked with lo-fi synth throbs and blips, before staccato bass drives the track into a swell of triumphant, layered vocals.
‘A Casual Dance Between Friends’ is a personal favourite, merging mind-warping synth lines with puerile recorder melodies like fractured radio interference caught between a nursery rhyme and Garry Numan’s dreams.
That paradox sums them up in a nutshell: a serious force to be reckoned with, yet just as easily imagined on Hove Lawns weaving daisy chains. Big Long Sun don’t simply play music — they refract Brighton back at itself, brighter, stranger and impossible to ignore.
I was lucky to catch Big Long Sun perform a sold-out show at the Alphabet on 24 July with support from local groups The Kitchen Sink Band and Lemonsucker, before they departed on a short album tour. I entered eagerly, and I left wondering how soon it would be until I’d get another sonic dose of their vitamin D.
Big Long Sun’s next Brighton show will be at the upcoming 234 Fest in September. Keep your eyes peeled, and don’t forget your shades!
