Big Fresh: Moneychasers

Lexington, Kentucky-based prog-pop-soul music collective Big Fresh cover a lot of ground on their newest release Moneychasers. From the opening vocals of “We’re All Rockstars on the Internet,” which sound something like Queen’s arena-rock stylings in their “Bohemian Rhapsody” heyday, to the trip-hoppy beats that kick in moments later or the hippie-psych stylings of follow-up tune “Lonely Hearts of Rome,” Big Fresh throws the listener one curveball after another. Confounding expectations can be a hit-or-miss strategy, but the band hits more than it misses, with songs like “Pretend I’m a Computer” successfully mixing bits of pop songcraft, funk, rock and prog sensibility into well-crafted – but not seamless – gems. Other times, the songs sag a bit beneath their weight. “You Are My Sea” aims for atmosphere but ends up merely formless, while the nursery-rhyme-ish “Sophia” is plain dull. A mixed bag, then, from a band that seems to pride itself on never getting into a rut.