The fresh-faced young musician Joseph Scarisbrick leads the Orchestra (For Now), the proggy and ambitious seven-piece London band who released the EP Plan 76 last year. But that's not Scarisbrick's only project. He's also the leader of Big Red, a trio that started off as a solo situation and came to include two other Orchestra (For Now) members, singer/bassist Millie Kirby and drummer Charlie Hancock.
Last year, while going back and forth between London and Scarisbrick wrote and recorded Big Red's debut single "Isn't He Funny?," a sprawling and self-reflexive six-minute song that opens with this line: "I'm gonna leave the band/ Hope you notice." He is funny, isn't he? The track starts off as a muted, mumbly aside before building to grand, ragged rock catharsis. If you like Car Seat Headrest, this one is for you. Here's what Scarisbrick says about it:
I was playing a few shows with just a drummer, and with this song I was improvising the lyrics on stage. The only line that stayed the same each time was "isn't he funny?"
Afterwards, I went home, wrote down the bits that I liked, and gradually pieced it together from all these different versions. I like that the song can't quite decide whether it's joking or breaking down. There’s all these threats and pull backs, small jabs and unease. It’s about trying to maintain control of how others see you while simultaneously losing control of yourself, and how actually it is best to not perform because you will go insane.
Check it out below.
Big Red will play their first headline show 7/23 at the Blue Basement in Third Man Records' London location.
