Big Eyes – Stake My Claim

Big Eyes, the brainchild of Kait Eldridge, play a delicious hybrid of power pop and punk that has a razor sharp rock edge, they have expanded from a trio to a four piece band, and they are now able to showcase the driving, duelling guitar leads and classic power pop vocal harmonies, that are a trademark of their albums, within their live shows. Their latest album, Stake My Claim, is the band’s third full length, and arguably their best to date.

The holy trinity of power pop, punk and rock are perfectly in balance on Stake My Claim, the album’s title track comes straight out of the traps with a hard hitting riff, the shotgun drums kick in and by the time the female vocals, that ooze a yearning for change and frustration at the status quo, kick in, you just know that you’re well and truly hooked into this abum. Behind Your Eyes is an equally striking number and then we get Just Not Right, which gives you an irresistable chugging power pop riff. The whole album continues in this vein, it balances these elements perfectly across all ten tracks, Joan Jett power chords blend with punk attitude, all of which is topped of with a sparkling pop sensibility to produce an almost perfect album, one that is certainly a contender for my top ten albums of the year come the end of 2016

I’ll admit that I’m unashamedly a sucker for a quality female led power pop punk band, if you are a fan of the likes of The Donnas, The Dollyrots  or Louise Distras then this is an album you need to buy. Kait Eldridge‘s vocals are delivered with a passionate fervour, every tracks guitar riffs are perfect twin attacks that never once edge into self indulgence and the drums are hit with metronomic precision, all  of which combine to create an incredibly infectious album that I doubt will leave your playlist anytime soon. The album clocks in at just under twenty five minutes, the majority of tracks are all perfectly pitched between the two and three minute mark, leaving the only criticism I can make being that I wanted to hear more, as Stake My Claim is over all too quickly.

You can order Stake My Claim on download, CD and vinyl from Don Giovanni Records from the 19th August here