On Feb. 28, new super group Big Walnuts Yonder released their first single. Members are from The Stooges, Deerhoof, Wilco and Tera Melos.
On Feb. 28, Big Walnuts Yonder released their single, entitled “Raise the Drawbridges?” for streaming. This is the first track made public off their upcoming self-titled album, which is expected out May 5th. The super group is comprised of: bassist/vocalist Mike Watt of The Stooges; drummer Greg Saunier of Deerhoof; guitarist Nels Cline of Wilco and guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos.
“Raise the Drawbridges?” begins with an off-center beat and a series of starts and stops. Before long, a frenetic energy overtakes the track. In two and a half minutes of expertly choreographed chaos, these gentlemen succeed in tightly maintaining audience attention.
The track is – happily – without easy definition. Truly wailing guitars evoke an almost metal energy. Meanwhile, there is something punk in the underlying, driving percussion. Bass work here weaves in like a thorough line the audience can never entirely capture. Over the top of all this mayhem, stern and mostly spoken vocals draw audiences into the story at hand.
When “Raise the Drawbridges?” ends, audiences are likely to be at a loss as to what they just heard – and will definitely want more. This is a fascinating meeting of the minds, with a resulting sound that is not an exact match for any of the bands these artists usually play with. Listeners will certainly be curious to see what comes next.