Big Scenic Nowhere – The Waydown

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · October 14, 2024

Big Scenic Nowhere is a super group which started from guitarists Bob Balch (Fu Manchu) and Gary Arce (Yawning Man). Balch has had a very busy year making music. He released a debut with his Slayer tribute/ doom project Slower (review here) and has another Slower album coming out in November. Also, his main band Fu Manchu (review here) released their latest album in mid June. He also made time for a new Big Scenic Nowhere collaboration with Gary Arce and company. For the latest lineup, the two recruited Tony Reed (Mos Generator) to play bass and lead vocals and Bill Stinson (Yawning Man) to handle the drums. Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars) plays keys on a couple of songs too. Big Scenic Nowhere released two prior albums, 2020’s Vision Beyond Horizon and 2022’s The Long Morrow. They also put out two EPs, 2019’s Dying On The Mountain, and 2022’s Lavender Blues. The band’s latest album, The Waydown was officially released on February 2nd, 2024 on Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

The title track, “The Waydown” starts off the record with a seven plus minute song of psychedelic space rock goodness. The atmospheric music is very expansive in execution and plays off the talents of its members. The sonic experimentation of the song is quite creative. Sprinkles of New Age music are present in this song with the keyboards and synthesizers. The busy bass lines of Reed and the excellent guitar work from Balch and Arce are spectacular. A magnificent piece of music to begin this album. Reed’s vocals are a suitable complement to the music. He’s got a good range of melody in his singing which shines brightly on songs like “Summer Teeth” and “Surf Western”. Both are very good songs with a lot of musical harmonies blended in. The latter song, “Surf Western” has a softer tone to start and holds up into a glorious guitar riding sound scape. “Bleed On” is a hypnotic and melodic overture that has a catchy lyrical reprise , “Go away, go away, go away, go away, bleed on, bleed on.”

The fifth track is a stunning cover song, “Sara Smile” from Hall & Oates. The original keyboardist, Eliot Lewis from Hall & Oates is a guest musician even. The band plays the song exceptionally accurate and Reed’s voice is right on point. My only complaint is that they played the song too accurate and didn’t add anything different. I would have rather heard another original, personally. “BT-OH” is a fantastic tune! It’s got a more guitar driven rock edge to it, with killer leads, funky lead bass at the end, and a very catchy vocal melody. It’s the most straight up rock song on The Waydown but still incorporates a lot of musical embellishments. Finally, the seventh and final track on the album is called “100”. It’s an orbicular type of song that circles around with musical majesty. The laid back feel is appealing to space heads and wanderers of thought. It has a long drawn out synthesized ending as the song fades away.

Big Scenic Nowhere has crafted a sonically satisfying and very creative album with The Waydown. This being my introduction to the band, I am completely enthralled. I can hear flourishing sounds of psychedelic and progressive rock, with a new age and melodic texture. I am very impressed with this album and the talents of each of the musicians. The Big Scenic Nowhere is not just a random side project but an absolutely encapsulating super group.