Big Walnuts Yonder (album)

Big Walnuts Yonder is an indie rock album released in 2017 by the eponymous supergroup. Big Walnuts Yonder consists of bassist/vocalist Mike Watt from Minutemen, guitarist Nels Cline from Wilco, drummer Greg Saunier from Deerhoof, and guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhart from Tera Melos.[7]

Big Walnuts Yonder
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 5, 2017[1]
RecordedJuly 12–14, 2014[2]
StudioStudio G Brooklyn[2][3]
GenreIndie rock
Length37:25[2]
LabelSargent House
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Spill Magazine[5]
Exclaim![6]

Production

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The album was recorded in three days during the summer of 2014 in Brooklyn, New York City,[8] live with very limited overdubs[9] and produced by Tony Maimone.[10] Months later vocals were added with Reinhart handling seven and Watt performing two.[9] Watt provided most of material by sharing rough versions of his compositions, or "launchpads" as he calls them,[1] played on bass.[11] On these tracks guitar was added after Watt's basslines, something that initially intimidated Reinhart[12] but Cline was familiar with the method of composing having worked this way before with Watt on Contemplating the Engine Room.[12] Cline and Saunier each contributed a track of their own.[13]

Raymond Pettibon created the album art.[3]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."All Against All"02:18
2."Sponge Bath"03:51
3."Flare Star Phantom"08:48
4."I Got Marty Feldman Eyes"03:28
5."Raise the Drawbridges?"02:19
6."Ready to Pop!"02:36
7."Forgot to Brush"04:03
8."Rapid Driver Moon Inhaler"03:33
9."Pud"02:49
10."Heat Melter"03:40

Reception

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Under the Radar's' Dustin Krcatovich's compared it to a "modern take on classic Beefheart" and praised the musicians ability to "combine weirdo prog-level precision and classic SST freakcore abandon"[14] The Spill Magazine's Ljubinko Zivkovic gave it three out of five stars and called it "a mixed bag with some stellar moments."[5] Justin Cober-Lake of Dusted praised the musicianship calling it "unsurprisingly unpredictable".[15] Scott A. Gray of Exclaim! found some of the tracks indulgent but ultimately found "the majority of Big Walnuts Yonder is fantastic."[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Rogers, Aaron (August 16, 2017). "A Collection of Accidents & Coincidences: Mike Watt, Big Walnuts Yonder, & the Minutemen". EarthQuaker Devices. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Big Walnuts Yonder". AllMusic. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Rayburn, Dave (April 27, 2017). "big walnuts yonder: an exclusive q&a with mike watt". Discussions magazine. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "Big Walnuts Yonder by Big Walnuts Yonder". Metacritic. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Zivkovic, Ljubinko. "Spill Album Review: Big Walnuts Yonder - Big Walnuts Yonder". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Gray, Scott A. (May 7, 2017). "Big Walnuts Yonder - Big Walnuts Yonder". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Pearce, Sheldon (March 1, 2017). "Minutemen, Wilco, Deerhoof Members Announce Album From New Band Big Walnuts Yonder". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  8. ^ "Upcoming Releases - Big Walnuts Yonder". Punk Rock Theory. February 28, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Mike Watt and Big Walnuts Yonder Announce Debut Album, Premiere Single (LISTEN)". Bass Player. April 25, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  10. ^ "Big Walnuts Yonder - Sargent House". Sargent House. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  11. ^ Gluckin, Tzvi (August 31, 2017). "Big Walnuts Yonder: Let's Start a Proj". Premier Guitar. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Geslani, Michelle (February 28, 2017). "Members of Minutemen, Wilco, Deerhoof, and Tera Melos form new band called Big Walnuts Yonder". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  13. ^ Kaye, Ben (May 1, 2017). "Big Walnuts Yonder (Minutemen, Wilco, Deerhoof, Tera Melos) share self-titled debut album: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  14. ^ Krcatovich, Dustin (May 2, 2017). "Big Walnuts Yonder Big Walnuts Yonder". Under the Radar. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  15. ^ Cober-Lake, Justin (May 22, 2017). "Big Walnuts Yonder–Big Walnuts Yonder (Sargent House)". Dusted. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
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