On album No. 3, Big Business continue on their quest to blow out
speakers, puncture drum heads, piss off your parents, cultivate new
forms of head-banging and bulldoze the bullshit that passes for hard
rock these days. This time they’ve enlisted six-string mercenary Toshi
Kasai to join them on their quest. Don’t worry. Kasai’s guitar playing
doesn’t diminish the fabulous scum-thickened low-end devastation that
original members Coady Willis and Jared Warren have put in place.
Instead, he adds some Zappa-esque flare to the monstrous sludge-fest
that Big Business perfected on their previous albums. If anything has
changed on Mind the Drift, the band now sounds a bit more
proggy. Warren’s vocals are more elaborate and soaring, the jackhammer
tempos now shift and sway, and playful, carnival asides and major-key
stadium celebrations leap from the dark stoner-metal cadences you’ve
come to expect. It’s not exactly Big Business’ White Album, but
it is enough of a songwriting step forward to make it clear that these
dudes are in it for the long haul. — Matt Whelihan
This article appears in May 13-19, 2009.
