“Ace” is the perfect example of maintaining a heavy indie sound without starting to hover into the stereotypical “hipster” category. The track starts off with infectious vibrating riffs topped with Sonya Balchandani’s demure vocals singing “Down under a moonlit starry sky / We’re killing ourselves with friendly fire.” By the middle of the song you are trapped in their web of guitar riffs and steady drum beats, and there will be no way that you can stop yourself from jamming along to it. The song comes to an end with a distorted sound that could be compared to a less abrasive version Aphex Twin’s “Come to Daddy.” As the track reaches its end the sounds of guitar distortion float up into the sky, and you are left wanting more.
“Ace” is off The Big Sleep’s third LP Nature Experiments. This album is definitely a different sound from their first album Son of the Tiger, which featured a much heavier rock sound. It is hard to believe that the band who made the Led Zepplin-esque instrumental “Brown Beauty” are the same ones who recorded the electro rock song “Valentine.” Even though their sound has developed differently over time, it still manages to please the ears. The New York trio stays true to their washed out shoegaze sound throughout the rest of Nature Experiments. Not all of the tracks are as upbeat as “Ace” and “Valentine” — “Ghosts in Bodies” sounds like a melancholy fever dream that will leave you in deep meditation. Their growth as a band is evident in this album, and you can only expect them to get better and better.