Big|Brave : OST
A movie can live or die by its score. A composed soundtrack has the power to amplify emotional moments, facilitating a deeper level of immersive storytelling for the viewer. Think of Wendy Carlos’ work on Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange; though visually stunning and with strong performances, Carlos’ evocative theme helps fuel the drama. The same can be said of John Carpenter’s Halloween, featuring Carpenter’s ominous score, escalating the movie’s horror and tension.
But what about a score for a movie that doesn’t exist? Such is the concept that birthed Big|Brave’s latest album, OST. Rather than use moving images to inspire sound, the Canadian experimental doom band uses sound to inspire a vast potential of moving images.
Coming off 2023’s nature morte and 2024’s A Chaos of Flowers, OST is far more minimalist in presentation. While the DNA of Big|Brave’s doom, drone, and noise qualities can be heard throughout, OST provides a tremendous space for the listener to project onto. That space is full of abstract, stirring arrangements which drone and shriek, sound shifting from background to foreground with varying levels of intensity.
Though Big|Brave employs multiple instruments—Wurlitzer, piano, Moog, electric guitar and more—at the heart of OST is “The Instrument.” Created by guitarist Mathieu Ball, The Instrument is a large piece of wood with piano strings fastened to it. Though shaped like a harp, it’s versatile in how it can be played. One way to use The Instrument is like a cello, strumming it with a bow; it can also function like a drum, the performer slapping at the strings with sticks. In creating OST, each member of Big|Brave brought their own unique approach to playing The Instrument.
Throughout the record, Big|Brave construct a vast soundscape of ambiance that drones and meanders. The strings of The Instrument reverberate as various blends of synth, noise, guitar distortion, and wordless vocal inflections flow and intermingle. As the band’s central tool, The Instrument does wonders to cast an array of mood throughout OST, whether that’s through hypnotic drones, or chilling, warped sounds.
In a press release for OST, Big|Brave noted that they reached out to director/visual artist Stacy Lee to create visuals to accompany the album. While it’ll be interesting to see what Lee came up with, OST’s greatest strength lies in what you, the listener, bring to it. In your own mind, OST has the power to represent any kind of movie. A horror, a drama, or perhaps something beyond genre.
A beautiful work of captivating drone and noise, OST subverts conventional understanding of how a story is told. We tend to rely on visuals for direction and to provide us with meaning. With OST, Big|Brave dare the listener to let go of that tether, inviting us to discover through sound and create our own stories.
Label: Thrill Jockey
Year: 2025
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Big|Brave : OST
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