Big Green, a Utica-based indie band, released their fourth album on May 1 In Retrograde.
Big Green made their start in the 1980s producing demos and playing at local bars in Utica. Brothers Matt and Joe Perry wrote, recorded and produced In Retrograde, their first album in ten years. The 24-track LP, like their past albums, takes a thematic approach. In previous albums, Big Green centered the themes around Christmas, Politicians and Dystopia. In Retrograde‘s inspiration comes from navigating love and relationships later-in-life.
The album begins with “Alone for a Day,” a 70s-inspired funk rock song with layered vocals and warbly synth. The driving snare beats and distorted, yet distant guitar make the listener feel like they are floating through space.
“Is It Wrong” takes a darker turn on the album, creating a feeling of someone walking aimlessly around with their thoughts. The haunted vocals further this feeling with lyrics about being unsure if you’re in the right relationship. It starts out with a simple love-song-esk line: “I love you // So I wrote out this song.” By the chorus confliction and self-doubt plagues the speaker: “Is it wrong, is it wrong, // Is it wrong for me to want to be with you, // Is it right, is it right, // Is it right, I should tolerate the solitude.”
“Don’t Unfriend Me,” written by Joe Perry, is a humorous song about a social media stalker. The track makes fun of the parasocial relationship a needy stalker can have over someone they “follow” on social media. Meanwhile, the person being “followed” barely known of their existence.
I know you probably saw me there in your driveway // when you nearly ran me over // But I don’t care if you upend me // Just don’t unfriend me, don’t walk away
Don’t Unfriend Me – Big Green
“Over the years, we’ve done music that’s on the funny side. We’re trying to make each other laugh,” Joe Perry said.
In Retrograde, takes an overall turn away from their usual ironic and humorous writing and steps into a more sentimental territory.
“There’s a lot of pain and there’s a lot of angst. “I’m not really sure a lot of that was consciously put into the songs,” Matt Perry said about the lyric writing process. He notes himself as a “compulsive songwriter.” For Matt Perry, writing poetry for this album was like doing a psychological evaluation, he said.
“You end up revealing things that you didn’t think you were going to reveal,” Matt Perry said.
In the penultimate track, “You Can’t Help,” takes the listener on a journey about the doubts and struggles of a relationship. Each verse adds a new though around the inner conflict about letting someone see your most vulnerable self. This song specifically show the lyric writing process Matt Perry touches on.
To listen to In Retrograde in full and learn more about Big Green, click here.
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