Album Notes

Big Soy's first full-length record, Putting the ___ in ___, reveals a band that has moved beyond the simple two-man live indie rock format that defined their early years. Although full of raw energy, Putting the ___ in ___ is much more than that--a whirlwind musical tour through the swirling, emotional depths of the complicated mind of singer/guitarist John Edds. His simple, poignant, unprocessed guitar parts are driven forward and toned like torn muscle by the intuitive drumming and keyboard playing of Adam White. His voice--pure and gritty, sweet and pained almost to the point of neurosis--tells stories that all but the least adventurous of us can relate to, even envision unfolding in our own lives. The result is a semi-autobiographical collection of twelve songs, songs that together follow the various internal and external adventures of lyricist John Edds. His sometimes painful, sometimes amusing, sometimes infuriating encounters with the various people and 'real' worlds he has been found inhabiting usually leave listeners reflecting on their own surprisingly various existences, if only they can allow themselves to acknowledge living them. To see Big Soy play live is an immediate entree into these worlds, as the band takes its audience on a bumpy ride over hugely varied emotional topography before crashing into a swamp of cathartic noise-sinking into a musical reality so thick it's almost impossible to escape. It doesn't take any longer to understand the brilliance of this new record--although it's not as immediately obvious when John is not staring at you, vocals rising and falling with every emotional stab at his painfully thick guitar strings--but just a few listens reveal the whole sordid picture, and you'll want it revealed again and again.