Album Review: Big Smoke’s “Time Is Golden” ls A Man’s Musical Goodbye To Life
Adrian Slattery was a beloved staple of the Melbourne music scene for over 10 years, and the lead singer of his dream-band Big Smoke. The band built a reputation as a group of phenomenal players with a seasoned command of classic rock riffs and folksy song-writing. In early 2015, Adrian was diagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer. Despite a rapidly deteriorating health and the devastating knowledge that his cancer was incurable, Adrian did what most of us would not do in his situation nor in better position; he smiled, stood up, and wrote a record. Slattery was determined to leave this world with a record that showed what his terminal illness had taught him: Time Is Golden.
In the mist chemotherapy and brain surgery, Slattery created Time Is Golden: a 10 track poesy to life and a sonic one to its radiance. After spending a decade freely writing and playing music across Australia’s gorgeous plains, Slattery’s fatal diagnosis pushed him to form a debut album for his beloved band that showed what wonderful 10 years they shared on the road and in song. His commitment to leave a musical legacy that showed both the mastery of his fellow bandmates and the gratefulness he had for his brief time on earth was successful in Big Smoke’s debut album Time Is Golden.
The beauty of Time Is Golden is that, despite its somber origins, it is a celebration of life. This indie-rock record feels like a day in the beach. You and Slattery, whose enigmatic voice exudes timelessness, are there before a crystal, blue ocean. With each wave comes memories of both your most glorious and ugliest times on earth, yet the only ones that manage to leave an imprint on the sand are the happy ones. The record is as fluid and calm as an ocean with, again, sonic waves that, even in their emotional roughest, show that joy and love are the strongest waves you will ever feel. I know that everyone whom hears this record will have a twinge of sadness weigh upon their heart as you can hear a star being born and say its goodbye, all at once.
This debut album is a powerful introduction and whimsical goodbye to a talent that we all will wish could have made 20 millions records, but will be moved with “the one” he created. Slattery’s vocals were perfect for the vulnerable novelizations that are folk songs. Indie-rock tracks are like character tales that observe the resilience and range of a human spirit. Yet, in Time is Golden, Slattery is your protagonist/ hero whom teaches you the virtues of gratitude and love with the kindest warmth of a dear friend. Not many people can say they love life or are thankful for its many wonders because, frankly, we do not continuously see it as wonderful. Still, to Slattery and the rest of Big Smoke, life is like a giant quilt goldenly threaded with small details that make a bigger picture.
Lyrically, the record is simple but stunning: Slattery is like a poet whom has locked himself in a room, opened the windows to the gorgeously clear, starry night and decided today I want appreciate life. Today, I want to tell life that even when I most hated it, I, actually, was madly in love with it, and for however, angry and disappointed it made me feel….. I would live it all over again. The enlightenment of that perspective is one we all wish to achieve, and not many do, even in the face of brain surgery and chemotherapy, which is when Slattery made this album.
Now I warn you, again, that knowing the background of this record and hearing Slattery’s raw, open vocals testify to life’s marvels will make you cry. Yet, I do not tell you the history and sadness of this record so that you may enter it with pity or depression. Instead, I tell you the inspiration of this record so that you know it was written and composed by a man, that though dying, lived better and more than many whom have years ahead of them. Big Smoke’s Time Is Golden is a love letter to life that not even elders can manifest because it is was done not by a dying soul but a loving, eternal spirit. I hope you give yourself the chance to hear and meet Adrian Slattery in Big Smoke’s Time Is Golden because not only will you like him, but you will learn from him.
Rest In Peace Adrian Slattery, and may your music, family, and band always find the strength to further your beautiful memory. For More Information on Big Smoke and To Buy Time Is Golden on October 28 Click Here.
