Big Deal - Chair

Most enjoy a bit of the ol’ boy/girl duo ‘group’ thing. “Are they in a relationship?” “Are they siblings?” “Are they part of an inscestual cult?” The soap opera will live as long as the duo’s do.

Nevertheless, there’s something extremely intriguing about a band which possesses only two members. It’s all about quality, not quantity after all and Big Deal certainly have a bucket teeming with the stuff. Unlike Slow Club (their neater, more pristine cousins), Big Deal are the temperamental, more realistic counterpart. Armed with merely an acoustic and electric guitar, KC and Alice’s minimalistic approach keeps new single ‘Chair’ genuinely engaging, accompanied intelligently by underlying cruel and bittersweet lyricism, ‘You don’t trust me to sit on your bed, put me on a chair in the corner instead’.

Playful echoing and overlapping vocals steer listeners into visualising the thoughts of a bit of an unrequited, problem filled relationship. Something we’ve all experienced, yes? It’s all a bit solemn and “I feel sorry for myself so feel sorry for me” until about 35 seconds in when the anxious rage of the electric guitar kicks in and questions why the relationship wouldn’t work. There’s a lingering hope throughout which keeps the record catchy and sensitive vocals which cry out to Best Coast (just with a teensy weensy bit less American manufacturing).

With their debut album next month, Big Deal have a lot to prove and a hell of a lot to gain. They maybe a small band but they have a serious amount of potential.