Big Burly is the long-awaited side project from members of Spesimin, Sheer Mag, The Company Corvette, and Programmed Hatred. Hailing from Philadelphia, Big Burly's signature sound puts bassists Jess Kramer and Ross Pritchet front and center. The guitarless band is balanced perfectly by Ian Dykstra's pounding drum style, while Dan T's deranged vocals serve up relentless energy. Wry humor, blisteringly short songs, and non-repetitive structures combine to make something unique and fun to listen to. Big Burly avoids grinding (or any sort of speed at all), instead delivering the slow and mid-paced parts that No Comply and Godstomper would've written between fast-core blast beats. I suppose you'd file it under noise-rock in that case, but there's something happening here that feels equally as likely to be on a compilation LP alongside Charles Bronson and Suppression as a volume of Dope-Guns-'N-Fucking In The Streets. Weirdly, Big Burly has two bassists and no guitarist, but the sound is just as trebly and itchy as the aforementioned Godstomper and No Comply. Maybe they only used amps that can be carried with one hand (or simply recorded it to sound that way), but it's a DIY-sounding affair, right down to the distorted squeal of vocalist Dan T. If you want polished hardcore, you can go to the mall! - Matt Korvette
