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"Three-quarters of the way through “quit ur job,” the searing indie pop song takes a sharp turn. Atonal guitars roar furiously, the drums pound like the doomsday clock’s second hand, and frontperson Kaitlin Pelkey, her voice shredded by peals of distortion, scream-sings “I love making minimum wage!” It’s jarring, pummeling, cathartic, and one of the moments during the making of Big Girl’s new EP, DYE, that makes the band members laugh the hardest. They found, as Pelkey puts it, the “delusional chorus” during a “late night freak out” writing session at a cabin in upstate New York. At first, it seemed too much, too silly, too left-field, but the more they thought about it, the more it clicked. For all of their purging punk energy, Big Girl embraces the absurd, understanding that laughing at the discomfort can take away its power.
Photo by: Tess Fulkerson
The New York City-based quartet, which features Pelkey, (guitar, main vocals, songwriting), Crispin Swank (guitar, vocals), Michael Cohen (drums), and Nico Astudillo (bass), combines brute-force guitar pyrotechnics with earwormy songwriting. The musicians have backgrounds in jazz and classical music, but cite 90s bands like Weezer, Pavement, and the Pixies, as well as angular contemporary acts like Speedy Ortiz, Deerhoof, and Sloppy Jane, as significant influences.
DIY GOD
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Pelkey’s songwriting reveals a sugary pop sensibility; Jael Holzman of D.C. noise-punks Ekko Astral refers to Big Girl as “the punk rock Chappell Roan.” And indeed, each of DYE’s five songs twists and turns through knotty arrangements, offering wry, sneering-but-smiling lyrics, blistering solos, and hook after hook after hook. There’s the Deerhunter-esque psychedelia that caps “I Can’t Tell,” the twin cannon Television leads in “Please Don’t Forget Me,” the slacker fuzz that permeates “Dye My Hair.” It’s easy to point out the band’s antecedents, but Big Girl doesn’t revel in nostalgia, pushing these sounds into bold, unpredictable territory.
Photo by: Tess Fulkerson
Though the band has several releases under their belt, DYE feels like a fresh introduction. After touring for a few years with the current lineup, the band wanted to capture the raw energy of their live show. “We’re big and theatrical and surreal when we play,” explains Pelkey. “And this record definitely sounds like it does on stage.” To capture that explosive energy, the band workshopped the songs in marathon rehearsals, then decamped to Easthampton, MA’s Sonelab Studios to again record with Justin Pizzoferrato (Speedy Ortiz, Dinosaur Jr., Pixies), who engineered and produced their previous record, Big Girl vs. God. Guitarist Crispin Swank produced the record, and after three 30-hour days, the band emerged with DYE.
Photo by: Scary World Media
At its core, the EP deals with grief in all stages. Pelkey wrote the songs while mourning her mother, and you can sense a palpable urgency, feeling around for a foothold after being rocked by tragedy. There’s a search for identity and perspective and a healthy amount of righteous anger, but perhaps most importantly, a profound sense of empathy. These are big-hearted songs, inviting the listener to wail and cry and gather up the strength to face what’s coming. “The revolution happens inside before it can be witnessed on the outside,” Pelkey asserts. “I want to give a voice to grief, to radical change, and to how powerful it can be to say ‘Fuck this, I’m done.’”
- Dash Lewis
"big girl makes the pope want to fuck"
- New York Times
FOREVER
Selected as a finalist by the Indie Shorts Awards Cannes, the surreal, dream-like video for “Forever” was directed by Brandon Flynn.
The notable creative team features director of photography Hillary Spera, and choreographer Renata Pereira Lima. The video is a gut-wrenching depiction of the real-life ‘just-going-through-the-motions’-like dance of the recently bereaved, plunging viewers into the vast glitching collage of grief in all its absurdity, beauty, and heartache.
"big girl will make you cry but you'll like it"
- Time Magazine
Photo by: BMillz
REAL PRESS
“Scrappy, uninhibited, and wonderstruck”
A GRRRL'S TWO SOUND CENTS
“The band announce themselves loudly with this record, a force to be reckoned with”
POST TRASH
“Part tribute and part fiery exorcism”
UNDER THE RADAR MAG
“ If this is Big Girl vs. GOD… Well, god never wrote any songs I listened to on repeat, so…”
FULL TIME AESTHETIC
"big girl is ready to burn in their own fire"
- Sports Illustrated
Opened for: The Black Lips, Crawlers, Cumgirl8, Christeene, Thick, Teenage Halloween, Boy Jr.
Artists performed/toured with: 95 Bulls, Abby Jeanne, Adult Human Females, A Deer A Horse, Anemic Royalty, Angel Loor, A Very Special Episode, Brennan Wedl, BRUCE, Castle Rat, Cellar Dwellar, Dead Tooth, Dropper, Edging, Ekko Astral, Evolfo, Farmer's Wife, Femcel, Goings, Godcaster, Grocer, Henry Flwr, Josephine Network, Kal Marks, Lily Mao, Lord Friday the 13th, Ma’am, Massie, Medusa, My Son the Doctor, OK Cowgirl, PONS, Powerviolets, Razor Braids, Saint Seneca, Shalom, Shitfire, Shred Flintstone, Skorts, Slow Fiction, Sour Widows, Space Camp, Tetchy, The Thing, Tilden, T!lt, Tula Vera, TVOD, Two-Man Giant Squid, Venus Twins, Well Wisher
Venues Played: Asbury Lanes, Elsewhere, Brooklyn Made, Baby's All Right, Union Pool, Sultan Room, Mercury Lounge, TV Eye, Our Wicked Lady, The Broadway, Bowery Electric, Arlene's Grocery, Main Drag, Alphaville, Transpecos, Purgatory, Zanzabar, Portal, Austin Garden & Studio, Static Age, Empire Control Room & Garage, Far Out Lounge
Photo by: Claire Jello
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