Big Ups is a Brooklyn band. By that, I mean I've seen Big Ups on Brooklyn bills—from Shea Stadium to Bowery Ballroom—for years now. They've done splits with fellow Brooklynites Flagland and Washer, recorded EPs and one full-length. Now they have a sophomore album Before A Million Universes due out on March 4 via Exploding In Sound (US)/Tough Love (UK).
It's chill if you picked up on the title's Walt Whitman reference (the last album, Eighteen Hours Of Static was an allusion to Carl Sagan), but not necessary. In that Whitman sway, Big Ups' new record is an ode to and exploration of the idea that nothing "is greater to one than one's self is" (n.b. "Song Of Myself," Walt Whitman).
In "Hope For Someone," premiering today, Big Ups ask, Why live in the moment/ if the moment is broken, like they are really, really trying to think of a good solution to life's problems (or at least this particular one). In short, Big Ups are a really good punk band of smart dudes asking hard questions with all of their heart.
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"'Hope for Someone' was one of the first songs written for this new record, and its completion motivated us to write more," Big Ups' Joe Galarraga explained in an email to The FADER. "Lyrically, as one may imagine, it's a tribute to idealism. The 'gardener' in the song is more than just a metaphor; many important people in my life do horticultural or agricultural work, and their diligence has always inspired me. There is so much optimism in creating and maintaining these kinds of spaces, and this sort of work often has pedagogical implications, too."
Stream "Hope For Someone" below, and preorder Before A Million Universes here.
Tour Dates:
03/05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium
03/09 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
03/10 – Charlotte, NC @ The Station
03/11 – Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover
03/12 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
03/13 – Denton, TX @ 35 Denton
03/14 – Houston, TX @ Super Happy Fun Land
03/15-19 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
03/20 – Oxford, MS @ Cats Purring Dude Ranch
03/28 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
03/29 – Manchester, UK @ Gullivers
03/30 – London, UK @ The Lexington
03/31 – Leeds, UK @ Headrow House
04/01 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana
04/02 – Birmingham, UK @ Sunflower Lounge
04/04 – Lille, FR @ La Peniche
04/05 – Paris, FR @ Mecanique Ondulatorie
04/06 – Brussels, BE @ VK
04/08 – Groningen, NL @ Vera
04/09 – Eindhoven, NL @ Area 51 Skate Park
04/10 – Cologne, DE @ MTC
04/11 – Vienna, AT @ B72
04/12 – Bologna, IT @ Freakout Club
04/13 – Mila, IT @ Ligera
04/14 – Munich, DE @ Kranhalle
04/16 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
04/18 – Berlin, DE @ Cassiopeia
04/19 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
04/21 – Amsterdam, NL @ OT301