Big Deal - Lights Out Album Review
Tuesday, February 7 
Our friend Nigel Blondeau was kind enough to review Big Deal's Lights Out for us here on the blog. Thanks Nigel!
Big Deal are a London duo consisting of Alice Costelloe and Kacey Underwood. Despite their 11-year age difference, they look like your standard boy/girl indie combo and evoke a natural sense of togetherness. Similar to the hype surrounding the White Stripes in the early 2000s, the press and their fans have devoted a lot of energy to the mystery surrounding their relationship.
After listening to Lights Out, their debut album, it’s easy to see why. It’s a record filled with tales from the bedroom, softly sung in tandem over twin guitars. There is a sense of innocence in their delivery, which makes sense given that the songs are mostly about the trials and tribulations of young love. In “Cool Like Kurt”, they sing, “Take me to your bed/don’t take me home/I want to be old/I want to be older.” Other songs like “Homework” focus on the sacrifices made in order to keep a relationship going. The lyrical themes border on well-worn territory and are strange given the fact that Underwood is pushing 30. Nonetheless, they are delivered with conviction and these shortfalls are somewhat vindicated by a general sense of immediacy and strong melodies.
Lights Out is stripped of a rhythm section, leaving only Costelloe and Underwood’s fuzzy guitars and delicate vocals. Often, they are able to construct a loud/quiet/loud dynamic with only two guitars. Single and obvious highlight, “Chair” and “With the World at my Feet” benefit the most from this approach and they warrant repeated listening. Other highlights include “Talk” and the reverb-heavy “Locked Up.” The Big Deal formula gets a little stale by the end, however, and could have benefited with the occasional vocal harmony or trade-off in singing.
Lights Out is a good record but not a great one, and it is missing the spark that makes so many other debuts memorable. The melodies are strong and the songs are fairly enjoyable but they aren’t particularly exciting. The highlights are excellent but rare and the filler tracks take away from the replay value. Big Deal have crafted an unique sounding record that ultimately comes up short.
7/10
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