Stealing Sheep - Big Wows (2019) [Hi-Res]

Big Wows is heavier, harder and weirder than Stealing Sheep's previous work. Bold neon pop songs with rave percussion, steelpans, dreamy segues and breathy experiments. The *fsszzt* sound of lemonade opens the album with a hyper-real sense of optimism that progressively reveals the cracks of dystopian irony amidst sugar-coated pop; held together by Emily Lansley's bass guitar, Luciana Mercer's drum kit, Rebecca Hawley's synths, and the trio's swooning steely vocal harmonies. Stealing Sheep describe Big Wows as "a slow rush"; taking shape over a period of nearly three years spent working out exactly what they wanted it to be and creating an album that levitated their identities as individuals as well as merging them into one unit "We're each finding our own creative intuition," says Bex "..and then we come together...and we back each other up" adds Lucy. Just as the title suggests, Big Wows is both cynical and optimistic: dreaminess and pop dance rhythms are cut With eye rolling vocal styles inflected by heartfelt lyrical messages "We hit upon this conversational-style between the vocals and have alternating lead melodies. There's a sarcastic tone to some of the music but there is always a strong wilfulness to incorporate honest integrity, which is hard to do but refreshing when it finally comes out."