We first wrote about New York trio The Big Net, AKA Kevin Copeland (guitar, vocals), Andrew Emge (drums) and Logan Miley (bass), earlier this year when they released a double single as part of Saddle Creek‘s Document series. The songs highlighted their “aesthetic of stripped back folk rock made with minimal overdubs” that captures “the languid air of bittersweet country,” the band adding a careful dosage of energy and weirdness to develop their distinctive style. “The Big Net have cast themselves into the waters of classic country and rock,” we concluded, “resurfacing with the very best features of the genres.”
The Big Net are about to return with a full-length album, In the Service of Song. Set for release on Brooklyn’s Marbled Arm Records, the album is again rooted in classic country sensibilities, focusing not on experimentation or novelty but emotional urgency. “I like to think of these songs as modern folk songs,” Copeland explains. “These songs are not revolutionary. They are songs of grief, loss, empathy, and regret.”
This week sees the release of the lead single, ‘Cowboy’, giving a first glimpse as to what to expect. Rising out of a hesitant bass line, the song’s gentle rhythm and uncertain delivery lends wistful mood, though this is punctuated with shifts into something louder and more forceful. The result is almost childlike in tone, both in its defenceless honesty and sudden outbursts of energy. A naivety, the sense of not being in full control one’s feelings. A mood that fits into the themes of the track.
“This song is about immaturity, and toxic masculinity,” Copeland explains, “and sometimes where those two intersect.” Each of us has our child selves still inside, and it would be a crime to lose it, but to let it take over and allow ourselves to react to our surroundings with total immediacy is to let something unhealthy and unfair govern our moods. “People think that because they have their big pants on, and they go to work, and pay rent, that they are an adult,” Copeland continues, “that they are somehow magically wiser, when really they’re no more emotionally mature than they were at eighteen.” ‘Cowboy’ strips us back to this truth, showing how scared, frustrated and small we feel, no matter how impressive our horses might be, how shiny our boots.
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In the Service of Song is out on 15th January via Marbled Arm Records and you can pre-order it now from The Big Net Bandcamp page.
Photo by Dallas Starky