Big Business: Quadruple Single

Like its namesake, Big Business pretty much does what it wants. Lately, that laissez-faire attitude has led to the band permanently loaning half its members to the Melvins, building its lineup from two to four, and releasing its own records: Quadruple Single marks the launch of the group’s own label, Gold Metal, and it’s also the first Big Business disc featuring new guitarist Scott Martin. Martin lays down the blankest of noise in the feral 400 Blows, and he brings that corrosive chaos to Quadruple Single’s four songs.

“Always Never Know When To Quit” is a meaty helping of the group’s trademark, open-throttle sludge, while “Guns”—with its infectious refrain, “Guns are better than everything else”—displays Big Business’ illicit affair with twisted melody. “Ice-Cold War” is more of a riff-flexing placeholder, but it only makes the EP’s high point, the choppy, catchy “City Ham,” that much more of a bulldozer by comparison. Throughout, Martin wrings squalls, squeals, and a rat’s nest of tortured notes out of his frets, dressing the band’s majestic shit sandwich with a schmear of battery acid. If Quadruple Single is an accurate indicator, this could be the start of something beautiful. Make that beautifully ugly.