Fitzsimon And Brogan Break Boundaries On “Big Blue World”
Track list:
1. Big Blue World – 2:42.
2. The Cutest and the Cruelest – 3:37.
3. Blue Velvet – 4:02.
4. The Downing Pool – 3:15.
5. Girl in a Gilded Cage – 2:36.
6. One Minute Every Hour – 4:35.
7. Venus in Reverse – 4:50.
8. Someone I Know – 2:29.
9. The Wounds are Healing – 3:59.
10. God Given Right – 3:03.
The duo of Londoners Neil Fitzsimon and Bee Brogan have been developing a pretty respectable career in recent years after their exodus from Pretty Blue Gun and after going through several labels, which makes the very positive receptions of their work much more fascinating. Add to that equation guest musicians that played for the likes of the Moody Blues or Eric Clapton and you have Fitzsimon and Brogan, now presenting a very great compilation of Pop Rock tracks in their brand new album, Big Blue World.
What makes this collaboration so appealing is the fact that they cannot be pigeon-hold like the vast majority of Pop Rock bands that are always proliferating in the business and that is something that can make a huge difference. Naturally, they come from the English music scene, where versatility and experimentation is always there almost by default, which is quite helpful for that. They are not only focused in making great songs, but they also have that curiosity to stretch artistically that makes musicians great.
So, what do have here in Big Blue World? Just by looking at the cover we can tell that we are not going to find a typical album: the image of Earth broken in two, almost giving “birth” to a new one, is as powerful as modern album covers can go and they show a level consciousness that is quite different to the usual Pop bands in the business. Album covers can’t make an album good or bad, but their goal is to amaze or at least intrigue the potential listener and this one does just that.
The great thing about the music on this album is the fact that each track is its own musical entity; you can find a wide variety of influences here and that makes for a much more compelling and intriguing listen. For example, God Given Right, the last song on the album, evokes some early 80s influences like The Clash and then you hear something like Blue Velvet, that has a few Folk influences and you can’t help but to be amazed at the fact that such opposites influences are coexistent in the same body of work.
One point I would like to signal is the fact that modern Rock musicians tend to tone down their ferocity and not have that kind of raw appeal that the great bands had back in the day; while I cannot dare to declare that Fitzsimon and Brogan have the same venom than, say, the Sex Pistols, I can safely say that they have a bit more of roughness going on than the average modern band and that is something worth celebrating–the modern Rock scene needs a bit more of that.
I will admit that one part that truly got me about this album was the fact that it has thick layers of guitar that just sound incredible with headphones; the production is top notch and that is another point to take into consideration when analyzing this album because it gives a little bit of balance to what is such a varied musical effort.
At the end of the day, Fitzsimon and Brogan’s Big Blue World is a pretty talented, varied and fascinating album that is worth having in your collection. If you are the kind of listener that likes Pop Rock, but also wants something a bit more musical, then this is the best choice for you.
-Kevin Tanza
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