Despite hardly releasing a duff track, let alone a bad album, Big Business have always been hard to categorize. An unruly mix of Melvins sludge -which is probably why Jared Warren and Coady Willis recorded three albums with Buzz Osborne and co.-, Floor’s ability to mix big heavy riffs and catchy vocals, and a healthy dose of punky rock and roll energy, Big Biz rarely get the love or attention they deserve.

With the California duo’s sixth full-length, The Beast You Are (Joyful Noise Recordings), the band continues largely in the same vein as 2016’s Command Your Weather and mostly houses slower songs that focus on the vocal melodies rather than balls to the wall rock.

At thirteen tracks, this is the band’s longest album yet and suffers with a lack of variety. Aside from a few too many airy interludes and sleigh-bell sweetness of ‘Under Everest’, individually there’s nary a weak song on show, but it’s all largely in the same slow-melodic-grind style, with little in the way of full-on in your face rockers like ‘Hands Up’ or ‘Stareodactyl’ from albums past.

That being said, when things click this is a great album. The stomping hook of ‘People Behave’, the swirling ‘Bright Grey’, the relentless menace of ‘El Pollo’, or the irresistible simplicity of ‘Let Them Grind’ all sit as some of the band’s best work.

Despite probably being the least instantly accessible of their discography, The Beast You Are still contains more than its fair share of quality. After a couple of listens, those earworms start burrowing their way in and refuse to leave. A slow burner, but still a solid effort.

8 / 10

DAN SWINHOE