Johnny Astro and the Big Bang
Monuments
It’s taken Johnny Astro and the Big Bang four years to follow up its promising 2011 EP, Thick as Thieves, with a full-length album. Monuments is a significant move forward for the band—they’re more competent and confident than they were four years ago, and they’ve polished their straightforward alt-rock (think Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, the Raconteurs, and Black Keys) with bad-boy sneering and prog weirdness. But it isn’t quite the breakthrough statement that might have been expected after such a long wait.
The group has plenty of personality—lead guitarist Patrick Tice offers fleet-fingered riffing and some memorable solos, singer/guitarist Bradley Wakefield injects a dose of snarling punk venom, and bassist Mike Carroll and drummer Nathan Gilleran provide an anchor for the alternately churning and propulsive songs. Monuments is, in fact, a pretty professional job all around (even if the production could be a bit cleaner). Its greatest weakness is that it operates in such well-worn territory—a step or two in either direction, toward pop accessibility or even more baroque instrumental oddity, would have made the album feel more distinctive. As it is, it feels like a very safe return—let’s hope it doesn’t take another four years for JABB to take its next steps forward.
Senior Editor Matthew Everett manages the Knoxville Mercury's arts & entertainment section, including the comprehensive calendar section—Knoxville’s go-to guide for everything worth doing in the area. You can reach Matthew at matthew@knoxmercury.com.
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