It
seemed unlikely that Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell of The Big Pink
would fall victim to “the sophomore slump.” Given
that the duo's excellent, critically acclaimed debut album, A
Brief History of Love was packed with gargantuan
choruses and stellar production, Furze and Cordell's second album
should've been hard to top, but not impossible given the duo's proven
talent. In the Big Pink's second album, Future This,
Furze and Cordell disregard what worked well in A Brief
History to create an album of
inferior quality, something that appears as a cheap imitation of
their past work.
On
Future, none of Furze
and Cordell's hooks explode with the same poignancy or strength as
their prior songs. The lyrics of love lost and broken hearts
that really resonated with listeners in A Brief History are
replaced in Future with
lyrics about staying grounded and strong; a positivity that radiates
in some of the best stadium rock. However, without the big sound The
Big Pink initially created for themselves in their debut, the lyrics
sound hackneyed and cliché, preachy rather than inspirational, and
even ironic considering it seems the duo lacked their own inspiration
when writing these lyrics.
The album really only stuns its
listeners in a few places, and when it does, it never fully reaches
the same sonic power as some of the weaker songs on A Brief
History did. The track, “Give
It Up” benefits from its strong production; a glitchy synth line
that echoes some influence from nineties trip-hop. The lead single
“Stay Gold,” while still underwhelming, works by closely adhering
to the formula of The Big Pink's most memorable hit “Dominos.”
Enough so that it even might have you raising an eyebrow. Maybe even
two.
WATCH: The Big Pink | "Stay Gold"
Future This's
weakness comes across as a production problem more than anything.
With award-winning producer Paul Epworth by their side (known for his
work with Adele and Florence and the Machine), The Big Pink almost
have the right stuff for a great follow-up, but the songs that fail
the most are the songs that try to be the most ambitious with its
production. The album's middle and longest track, “1313,” intends
to channel the lo-fi electronic sound pulled off by many great
artists, but instead, the production and vocals appear muddled and
repetitive, and the track even seems a few minutes too long. With
Future, listeners can
hear and understand what Furze and Cordell tried to do, but with a
great producer like Epworth, the duo never hit the mark like they
really should be able to.
With a
band that's proven in the past that they can create material that's
catchy and innovative, and even ready for the radio, The Big Pink's
sophomore effort doesn't seem to aim higher than mediocrity. While
many songs on Furze and Cordell's debut were overshadowed by the
behemoth success of the track “Dominos” – a standout that
deserved the attention it got – the album was still consistently
strong. With Future This, not
one song stands strong enough on its own to carry the album, and the
record itself blends a little too closely together to be consider a
strong collective work.
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