Big Ned
Big Ned (Optimo Music)
Two of the biggest music scenes in Glasgow have been dance music and country and western and Big Ned manage to cover both bases neatly. Don’t be too concerned about hoedowns and moonshine but the dark menacing overtones of the songs as well as the loose pace and lyrical twang definitely tips a Stetson to the greater names of Country music.
Its probably no surprised that Big Ned are on the Optimo Music label, being that Optimo still stands as one of the most eclectic nights in the entire city.
The cover of The Rolling Stone’s ‘Paint It Black’ is going to be an easy way for any listener to integrate themselves with the act but they don’t make it easy for an unsuspecting listener. The pace is so slow and plodding that it would be akin to Dr Stephen Hawking with a drained battery but the song manages to make their own tracks seem more vibrant and lively. When ‘Ambition’ bounces into life after it, it seems positively upbeat, even though it does have that dark electronic twang of The Fall of the mid to late 80s.
Clocking in at just over half an hour, ‘Big Ned’ does not get the opportunity to overstay its welcome which leaves you with a tight and concise bad natured little record. If you like things dark and sinister then raise your glass of whiskey to Big Ned.
Andy Reilly
