The Mansions Big Bad
Half White / Half Black Vinyl. This is the first new Mansions full-length since 2013's Doom Loop and their first new music since 2017's Deserter EP. It's the fourth LP overall for the Seattle band, consisting of multi-instrumentalist Chris Browder and bassist Robin Dove, following Doom Loop, 2011's Dig Up The Dead and 2009's New Best Friends. Big Bad finds Mansions at an intersection. It's an album that's preoccupied with making peace with the past and finding a way to make the most of the future-all without losing sight of here and now. Browder's songwriting has never been more dynamic, weaving vibrant synths, shimmering guitars, and churning bass into a sound that captures the big hooks that Mansions are known for while also entering uncharted sonic territory. Matters of aging, mortality, and identity are explored over the top of 11 songs that range from sparse and deeply intimate to sprawling and atmospheric, often within the same song. The result is a document of change and growth that feels like a culmination of Mansion's ever-evolving sound, as well as a new way forward.