Following in the footsteps of electronic bands like Justice, Jonathan Bates creates a gritty, visceral experience for listeners under the moniker Big Black Delta. Through the use of distortion and detuned synthesizer patches, Bates creates a futuristic and larger than life sound. For Big Black Delta’s sophomore album, “Trágame Tierra,” Bates gives a little more color to the project as a whole, and the end result is fantastic.
Garnished with filtered vocal harmonies, “Trágame Tierra” displays significant growth in Bates’ Big Black Delta project since its eponymous debut. A large part of this development can be immediately noticed in the overall atmosphere of the album. Bates’ music feels more comfortable while still maintaining the freaky, distorted feel signature to Big Black Delta. Musical collaborators Kimbra and Debbie Gibson provide tracks “RCVR” and “Bitten by the Apple” with seamless duets that add life to the album. The instrumentation of “Trágame Tierra” gets a fresh coat of paint with every track. While it’s a little too subtle to really notice upon the first listen, the bass and drums display different traits in each song, whether live, synthesized, or a combination of both. While the album as a whole contains a healthy amount of energy, the album’s two halves arc in the middle for truly spectacular moments. “Well My Heart” sounds like a sun-damaged Lord Huron record at first, but seems to catch fire and explode as it reaches its climactic end. Before the reader interprets this as an insult, know that this is an incredible feat for the often closeted cleanliness of indie electronic music. Every track on this album isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty, whether it is the funky, hooky “RCVR,” or the borderline classic rock track “Let’s Go Home.” Things seem to slow down for the remainder of the album, and Bates maintains masterful control over the whirring synthesizer patches of “Trágame Tierra,” as he brings the album to a close with the title track.
Overall, “Trágame Tierra” rests ambiguously between nostalgia and futurism. While many elements feel very influenced by 1980’s new wave synth music, Big Black Delta is in no way locked up by this fact. There’s something very real about Big Black Delta’s music, which is a rare trait within the genre of electronic music. The album’s half-man half-machine electronic sound, and additionally its ability to draw from many different styles and eras make “Trágame Tierra” completely worth listening to.
