Big Spider's Back

Big Spider's Back (aka Yair Rubinstein) has also been getting some unexpected attention for his recent debut EP, Warped (out November 10 on Portland's Circle into Square Records). On October 12, BSB's song "Perfect Machine" was posted to Pitchfork. On October 17, influential KEXP DJ John Richards posted to his Twitter page calling the track his "new fav song... Beautiful electro moody pop on this 'warped ep.'" Two weeks later, Rubinstein was at KEXP for a live in-studio performance on the afternoon show, nervously explaining his unwieldy band name (a reference to some jazz musician by way of a Family Circus cartoon) and fielding host Cheryl Waters's fairly gushing praise. (As of this writing, BSB's Warped is number 54 in KEXP's variety chart; Neon Indian is up at number 7.) "It definitely took me by surprise," says Rubinstein of the sudden attention.

At five tracks in 18 minutes, the Warped EP is a slight offering, but it contains the most structured, songlike material of any of these acts. While U.S.F. hide vocal traces in the depths of their productions (or host guest vocalists), BSB puts his singing relatively front and center, albeit treated with generous reverb. There isn't much in the way of traditional verses and choruses, though, so much as there are just a few insistently repeated, then gently receding lines ("Again Agent" and "Spooked" are instrumentals, "Don't Make Me Laugh" has all of 16 words, "Perfect Machine" 18, and the EP's title track tops out at 30). If the lyrical content is light, it's counteracted by the album's flowery liner notes, a kind of short story describing what sounds like a bird dream of the Pacific Coast.

Rubinstein's singing voice is a little mumbly, a little thin, reserved but not unable to reach the occasional high-altitude strain. The light vocal and metronomic piano melody of "Don't Make Me Laugh"—by far the catchiest thing here—wouldn't sound out of place in a Band of Horses song, if not for the backward-­slipping background loops and the electrical vibration that stands in for a guitar solo at the song's understated apex. "Perfect Machine" backs stretched-out singing with chiming, slightly tinny chords submerged in warm jets of guitar. The title track begins with an oddly poppy loop—loping guitar strumming, golden bursts of background vocals, a fluttering flute—then the bass and snare rolls drop in, and the whole thing slowly fades out under a nagging vocal refrain. - The Stranger

Yair Rubinstein, aka Big Spider’s Back, started making lo-fi bedroom recordings a couple of years ago, but his Warped EP marks his first official foray into the music world outside those doors. Besides it being an impressive debut in its own right, he has already garnered the attention of Pitchfork and our own Morning Show host John Richards (his song “Perfect Machine” was featured on a Music That Matters Podcast earlier this year) as well as several tastemakers in the blogosphere. This DIY poster child is already part of a genre that The Stranger reports may already be a passing trend though it only came into being this summer. (Read their article featuring BSB and other “Chillwave” artists here). Regardless about where you toss this artist into the genre bucket, the one thing that is for sure is he can rest easy on the strength of his music. Rubinstein as Big Spider’s Back creates loops and layers of sound that culminate into atmospheric psych/synth pop a la Panda Bear and Animal Collective. Today’s song the title track from the EP features haunting vocals (though most of his music, like other “chillwave” artists have relatively few vocals) under layers of soaring synth loops and joyful melodies.

You can catch Big Spider’s Back live at Lo-Fi for their/his CD release party on Saturday, December 19th. More dates can be found on his MySpace page. In the meantime, check out the video for “Warped”: - KEXP

Don't know much about Seattle's Big Spider's Back, except that he's one dude who appears on Rising artist Universal Studios Florida's debut album. "Perfect Machine" certainly sounds like the work of more than one bedroom-dwelling knob-twister, but with all the looping autoharps and echoed vocals, it's believable enough that there's just one guy behind this big sound. This track if from an EP called Warped, due next month on Portland's Circle Into Square. - Pitchfork Media