Big Bill "Sick Myth" [Indie Exclusive]

Following the acclaimed Strawberry Seed, Austin art-rock band Big Bill faced a challenge in fall 2024: lead singer Eric Braden's upcoming move to Philadelphia after fourteen years in Austin. Knowing it would soon become harder to get together, the band made plans to record their next album before the year's end.

The need to finish before Braden's departure fueled the new material's energy. This album, they declared, would be "essential Big Bill"—a collection of "all bangers." It would amplify the band's manic intensity and dark humor. Strawberry Seed's two standout tracks, "Poverty of Wires" and "Throw it Away," set the stage for this focused approach.

November became a time of intense songwriting, using a brand new method. Parts were crafted in intense brainstorm sessions, then later digitally mixed-and-matched. Once a structure started to arise, the band then "learned" each track live in their practice space, tweaking lyrics along the way. This approach brought a fresh and urgent energy to the process.

In December, the band recorded at drummer and producer Jeff Olson's house. Wiley Greene assisted with production, allowing Olson to focus on the drums. Thirteen tracks were recorded, featuring Braden, Olson, guitarist Alex Riegelman, and bassist Alan Lauer. Collaborators Cameron Bina (background vocals) and Billie Buck of Sailor Poon (saxophone) contributed. The result of this two-month creative effort is Sick Myth: a thirteen-song, thirty-two-minute album.

Sick Myth explores the spiritual ugliness of America, depicting the sad, desolate, and commodified landscape of the United States. The album addresses themes of death, corporate psychopathy, and the mythology of the country. These themes are present in the album's cover art, a photograph by Chris Evans depicting a parade float with a massive hamburger passing the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., and they are present in the title track, which declares: "I don’t really think they care at all/ I don’t really need a crystal ball."

Throughout the album, Big Bill analyzes facets of this "sick myth." "Young Men of the World" targets the "manosphere" and the country's drift towards the political right, urging listeners to "don't listen to macho clowns." The refrain of "The Money Store"—"My blood is red if I say so, jingles sound good on my radio"—jabs an index finger in the ribs of the "red-blooded American" concept. In "Worm Within," the band offers a look into the life of the average working-class American through the eyes of a tragicomic worker at a pork processing facility. And "The Open Door" speaks to the toxic American hustle culture, captured in the lyrics: "My cousin says he knows the best way/ To make a living in the US of A/ He said he’ll show me for a small fee/ And he’ll throw in a free cup of coffee."

Through these tracks, Big Bill makes Sick Myth a commentary on the state of America. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than on “Cameras,” set in the heavily surveilled deserts of the American Southern border, with Braden’s semi-satirical suggestion that, to keep things fair, we fill the mansions with cameras, too. In an era of countless TikToks evoking the dark ironies of late-stage capitalism, Sick Myth feels like a roller coaster through the wreckage.