ALBUM REVIEW: Big Sleeper – InTechnicolour

Brighton crew INTECHNICOLOUR have levelled up their vibrant stoner vibe with new album Big Sleeper. With big QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE influences evident from the very start of the album with opener Miami Funk and second track Under The Sun sounding almost as if they were lifted from Josh Homme’s very brain. Songs For The Deaf guitar tones back vocalist Tobie Anderson’s coarse but powerful voice which propels the songs beyond being a pale imitation of QOTSA, but rather their own attitude, which brings to mind summery festival moments – without a doubt Big Sleeper is going to be a fantastic album to return to in warmer months, but as a soundtrack to its’ February release, it does seem slightly out of place.

However just because it brings to mind warmer times does not mean that this is not an incredible record with some huge riffs – most notably Gallon Man which feels like the ring out to every single punk show in the world but with added intensity, anyone would be hard pressed not to be blown completely away by the band working in tandem to perform what can only be described as a huge wall of sound.

Despite their intensity though, this is a band who also know how to slow things down, with the aptly named Slow Moth serving as a moment of respite from the noise. This slower work is hugely atmospheric, drawing to mind some of BARONESS’ more technical and ambient work, and demonstrates the potential for huge crossover appeal that INTECHNICOLOUR can draw if they continue down this path. Indeed the slowly rising pace of the song helps call to mind its title’s subject matter, slowly becoming more and more intense in a similar way to how a moth’s hunt for light becomes more desperate before slowly fading away.

The stoner rock KYUSS style influences are clearer on final track Tortoise more than anywhere else on Big Sleeper with the eight minute long track living up to its name and taking its sweet time to get going, slow guitar strums and feedback are the order of the day. It is the best part of four minutes before Anderson’s crooning vocals enter, accompanied by crashing cymbals. The album closer is much slower paced than the rest of the album, but it is truly a track that sums up what Big Sleeper is for INTECHNICOLOUR, as atmospheric as it is technical, and as the tempo picks up towards the end of the song it feels like a triumphant note to end on – almost a metaphorical bow off stage as the stoner quartet show off their impressive chops one last time.

While the Brighton band’s influences are clearly arrayed across the album, the most exciting thing about Big Sleeper is how INTECHNICOLOUR completely reimagine them, combining elements of BARONESS with more traditional stoner influences such as KYUSS and creating a much more intense and complete rock ‘n’ roll experience with its own identity rather than merely imitating their idols such has been attempted by many of their contemporaries. This is an album that requires a decent amount of investment, but the return on that investment is fully worth it, and this is the start of INTECHNICOLOUR’s rise to stoner cult heroes.

Rating: 8/10

Big Sleeper is set for release on February 21st via Big Scary Monsters.

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