Singles

Isa And The Filthy Tongues - Big Star

Page 06/07/2009

Rating: 3.5/5

Big Star is the new single by Isa And The Filthy Tongues, not a musical tribute to Alex Chilton's legendary 70's band but a dark 80's tinged number about Hollywood's promise, or threat, to make a starlet a big star. Isa and The Filthy Tongues are basically Isa and Martin Metcalfe (from Goodbye Mr Mckenzie), with the help of a few friends.

As mentioned Big Star is 80's tinged, to be honest a little too 80's tinged at times, at first sounding like Sonic Youth, then early New Order, a bit of Echo and The Bunnymen, all with Jesus and Mary Chain style fuzz guitars. Not that that's a bad thing totally it just would've been nice to not be constantly playing spot the influences all the way through the song.

That aside though it is a fine little single, dirty, scuzzy in just the right way with Isa's vocals having a dark intense PJ Harvey quality to them that compliments Metcalfe's intense wall of fuzz guitars very nicely. It's a cracking, intensely immediate single that deserves to be subverting daytime play lists everywhere doing what a good single should, it makes me want to explore the band further.

Overall then it's a good single that at three minutes twenty-eight doesn't hang around too long and leaves you wanting more. We just have to hope that when more stuff comes, Isa And The Filthy Tongues don't display their influences quite so prominently and let their own obvious talents shine through.