The iconic film composer's first solo album in 37 years is quite ambitious and risk taking. Big Mess is an overwhelming listen but there is a lot to appreciate, from the noisy guitars and abrasive electronics to the lusciously massive orchestration.
You may not have heard of Danny Elfman, you definitely have heard of his music. As a post punker in the 80's with Oingo Boingo, Elfman surprisingly transitioned into film composing and has thrived in it for decades. He has contributed to Iconic films like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands, Mission: Impossible, Good Will Hunting (just to name a few), along with countless TV themes (The Simpsons, anyone?). But after all these years, Elfman really hasn't done many indulgences within his music besides compositions for film and TV since his punk days. That is until the release of Big Mess, Danny Elfman's first solo album in 37 years being released on Anti Records. It's not just a rehash of his earlier days nor is it another film soundtrack. Big Mess is an ambitious double album (1 hour and 12 minutes in length) full of tracks blending harsh industrial noise, rock, and metal with cinematic strings and orchestral arrangements. It's quite a musical feat, especially not hearing Elfman in this type of style or musical headspace whatsoever.
Big Mess is certainly not super cohesive or consistent with its track listing and kind of lives up to the name a little bit in my opinion. It's quite messy and all over the place. Not to say it's a truly bad thing but many of the tracks can be exhausting to hear one after the other. The production is noisy, loud, abrasive, and disturbing at times, but it is also oddly beautiful and gorgeous when it comes to the string and orchestral arrangements. Danny Elfman's voice is very manic and chaotic while the guitars can be shredding and rough. Despite the record being very ambitious, long, and risk taking, I do find quite a bit to enjoy and appreciate on Big Mess. For starters, the majority of the singles were quite good. "Sorry" starts the album with these chanting "sorry" vocal lines and fragile, soft strings over these chugging guitars. There are some moments that play out like I'm listening to a hard rock opera album from the early 2000's ("True," "Just a Human"). There are moments like I'm listening to a dark fantasy epic ("In Time"). There are moments when I'm listening to some funky and sinister apocalyptic grooves ("Dance With the Lemurs").
With the album being on two discs, I find the first disc to be more compelling. I don't know how much of it has to do with me growing more tiresome over listening to the entire record from start to finish... it can be a difficult listen. The second disc has many guitar driven moments where I find Elfman rehashing similar industrial rock and metal tropes that I've heard him try earlier. I also appreciate Elfman tackling current topics like politics or the COVID-19 virus even though they're presented a little too on the nose (I mean the title track is literally called "Love in the Time of Covid"). I find the jumpy and chaotic "Insects" to be an absolutely thrilling closer to the record. Its insane performance from Elfman is quite memorable with its grooves, distorted guitars and sporadic electronics and layering. It's quite nice to see him experimenting and I wish there were more songs as wild with the electronics and sampling like this track.
Even after 37 years of not releasing music solely under his name, Danny Elfman definitely surprises his audience with a huge curve ball here. Big Mess is a hugely ambitious and risk taking record that may be a bit too ambitious at times. The 18 tracks spanned across two discs with over an hour of material... I mean, if it was cut to the essential tracks it would've faired with me much better. I appreciate the noisy guitars and abrasive electronics matched with lush orchestration. It is a different experience for me, I typically don't listen to too much music in this sort of vein. It was a fun experience listening to Big Mess despite my mixed feelings towards it. There's a lot to give Danny Elfman credit for on this record. With all the solid compositional projects he's put out for decades for other people, he's trying something new, personal, and heartfelt. I dig that.
My Rating: 6 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Insects," "Sorry," "True," "Dance With the Lemurs"
Comments