It’s not solely Joe Galarraga’s screeched instruction to “look into the crystal” which ensures PPP – the combative, visceral comeback track from NYC four-piece, Big Ups – recalls (at least in parts and places) their Atlantan counterparts Mastodon. Because in spite of Amar Lal’s sprightly harmonics and, incongruously enough, handclaps, sooner rather than later, they’re tearing through thewy, overdrive-addled outbursts to have the Hunters of the Sky heading for the high road. Chuck in clairvoyant quips (“A prism, projection, prediction,” Galarraga’ll repeatedly smirk deadpan), riffs what prove wiry in more ways than one, and some guttural bass gurgling for good measure, and you’ve got yourself 155 seconds of full-on, no-nonsense excellence that’s “everything all at once.”
PPP is lifted from their forthcoming Two Parts Together full-length, which is available from May 18th via Exploding In Sound Records, while Big Ups play Birthdays on June 14th.