90’s heads, please make your way down the aisle to celebrate the return of Big’n with us – yes, that Big’n. The news was hard to keep under wraps when we received an email about it last month, but we knew the wait would be worth it, as fans of the Chicago outfit have technically been waiting a solid 24 years for new music.
End Comes Too Soon, the upcoming record from Big’n due November 15th, is also going to be their first record without the late, great Steve Albini at the helm. It was still recorded at the legendary Electrical Audio however, and this time engineered by Shane Hochstetler with mastering from Carl Saff, so we have every reason to believe it’s going to sound massive.
Oh, actually, we have proof – check out the album’s scathing first single “South of Loathsome” below:
Now that is some chunky bass guitar – “South of Loathsome” trudges through a desert of noise like an angry, long-weary traveller, ultimately ending with what feels like vocalist William Atkins turning himself inside out against the mic a la Chat Pile. Atkins’ tragic rallying cries are as recognizable as ever, and it’s a good reminder that just because it’s been 20 years doesn’t mean you can’t wail with the best of them.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that Computer Students, the label behind the reboot, should be pretty recognizable to our readers at this point. We are massive fans – they’ve been instrumental in helping bands from the 1990’s reach a whole new generation like Cheval de Frise, Lynx, Hey! Tonal, and with Big’n joining their ranks, we’re getting emotional over here. Check out more from the press release, there’s some good stuff in here:
“South of Loathsome” is the second song on End Comes Too Soon, the third and newest album by Chicago band Big’n, due for release via Computer Students™ on November 15th, 2024 on LP (Standard, Deluxe and Limited [Red] Editions) and digitally.
Bigʼn is a Chicago-based noise rock band formed in 1990, consisting of vocalist William Akins, guitarist Todd Johnson, bassist Fred Popolo, and drummer Brian Wnukowski. After releasing a stellar debut album, followed by their sophomore and signature effort Discipline Through Sound on Skingraft Records, and a split single with Shellac, the band became inactive for some years. They resurfaced in 2010, releasing a compilation of singles and an EP, touring Europe twice, and playing numerous festivals in the US. In 2018, they recorded and released an EP, Knife of Sin, and in 2022, they released DTS 25, an expanded reissue of their second album. Both were recorded by the late, great Steve Albini and released on Computer Students™.
In 2024, Bigʼn is back once again with a ruthless new album, End Comes Too Soon — their first in 28 years — which will be released November 15, 2024. It’s all still here as present and disciplined as ever — Brianʼs powerful, reliably precise drumming with melodic phrasing that shapes the songs, Fredʼs metallic superstructure of a bass that builds the defined framework of the music, Toddʼs clangorous guitar that has more harmonic content than a lot of his noisier peers, and William Akinsʼ yarling vocals, the most recognizably human thing about the band, that convey layers of tension and intent, all the emotional content of a hellbound therapy session.
End Comes Too Soon was recorded by Shane Hochstetler at Chicagoʼs Electrical Audio — Albiniʼs kingdom. Unintentionally — yet cleverly — Side A ended up being recorded in Studio A, and Side B in Studio B. Also completely unintentional is the album title. Tragically, on May 7, 2024, Steve Albini suddenly passed away of a heart attack. Naturally, Bigʼn were shocked and devastated. End Comes Too Soonʼs title comes from a lyric, and is unrelated to Albini; still, the album became a roundabout love letter to the man, his studio, and his legacy.
The album was mastered by Carl Saff and is offered in three forms. The first is the standard edition on high-quality 180-gram vinyl inside a 6mm spine gatefold cover with matte finish. The second is a deluxe edition, with all of the above housed in tactile Type-2 aluminum packaging alongside a massive double-side poster. Lastly, End Comes Too Soon will be available to stream and download.
Seventy copies are available only from the Computer Students™ website on a limited edition basis. They are housed in Type-1 aluminum packaging with red print in lieu of black.
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