Big Mess

by Danny Elfman

Overview

A street-theater musician-turned-new wave artist-turned prolific film scorer, Danny Elfman composed music for over 100 films and TV shows between his first solo album, 1984's So-Lo, and this, his second, 2021's Big Mess. A much deeper, denser, and darker outing, Big Mess has more in common with his group Oingo Boingo's grim final release, Boingo (1994), than any of his prior pop material, though it ultimately stands on its own. It was written in 2020 while in lockdown as a series of planned concerts were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An unplanned, ranting, over-hour-long work that's both personal and directly influenced by current events, it takes the form of an orchestral hard rock that the songwriter/multi-instrumentalist pieced together with help from, among others, guitarist Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails, Guns N' Roses), drummer Josh Freese (Devo, Nine Inch Nails), bassist Stu Brooks (Dub Trio), a string quartet, and two Budapest-based orchestras. (Oingo Boingo bandmate and longtime scoring assistant Steve Bartek contributed orchestrations.) Fans of Elfman's celebrated work with director Tim Burton will be glad to find that he still brings an irrepressibly mischievous spirit to the album, though it operates in tandem with an earnest anger and frustration reflected in titles like "Choose Your Side," "Better Times," and "Love in the Time of COVID." The album opens with feedback, a power chord, and a drum fill on "Sorry," an ominous rock track. Its components include choir-like backing vocals and a wall of sound constructed of electric guitars, synths, strings, and mallet percussion, all under a steadily intensifying, explicitly worded vocal that includes sentiments like "I can't breathe while you're alive...and I'm so sorry that I didn't die." That sets the tone for many of the album's 18 tracks, though Elfman varies tempo, topic, and approach throughout what is a well-sequenced, adventurous set. Diversions from its anguished, industrial-tipping indie rock include the quiet rumination of "In Time," the acoustic-percussion-heavy "Dance with the Lemurs," the haunting torch song "We Belong," and the hookier "Just a Human." Elsewhere, "Choose Your Side" samples a speech by then-president Donald Trump while holding its nose, and the thrash-injected "Kick Me" takes on celebrities, royalty, and billionaires with gusto ("Losers not invited/I'm such a sensitive guy"). Seething lead single "Happy" is an epic, theatrical highlight in line with some of the darkest tracks from The Nightmare Before Christmas -- if with more guitar distortion. While the powerfully cathartic Big Mess does feel overlong, it may serve as a rare case where that's masterfully appropriate. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	06/11/2021
Label:	ANTI-/EPITAPH
UPC:	0045778781126

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Danny Elfman   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Synthesizer
Stu Brooks   Bass
Warren Fitzgerald   Guitar
Josh Freese   Drums
Petra Haden   Vocals,Soloist
Steve Bartek   Orchestra
Robin Finck   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Peter Pejtsik   Conductor
Danielle Withers   Choir/Chorus
Zoltan Pad   Conductor
Nili Brosh   Guitar
Holly Sedillos   Choir/Chorus
Budapest Art Orchestra   Orchestra
The Lyris Quartet   Strings
Budapest Scoring Orchestra   Orchestra
Sidney Hopson   Percussion
Joe Martone   Percussion
Anna Schubert   Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Bertalan Veer   Coordination,Orchestral Coordinator
Orlando Perez Rosso   Technician
Hirad Sab   Artwork
Miklos Lukacs   Producer,Contractor,Session Producer
Randall Dunn   Mixing Engineer
Danny Elfman   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Steve Bartek   Strings Orchestrator
Ben Greenberg   Mixing Assistant
Marc Mann   Assistant,Orchestration
Pete Rutcho   Mixing Engineer
Noah Snyder   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Laura Engel   Executive Producer
Joe LaPorta   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Denes Redly   Engineer
Gabor Buczko   Engineer
Sarah Sitkin   Artwork
Francisco Botero   Mixing Assistant
Joe Hamilton   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Balint Sapszon   Producer,Orchestra Production
Melisa McGregor   Producer,Project Manager
Matt Tuggle   Engineer
Nick Rives   Engineer
Garrett "Kevin" Deblock   Mixing Engineer
Mikel Hurwitz   Orchestration
Berit Gwendolyn Gilma   Art Direction,Graphic Design,Creative Director
Giacomo Lamparelli   Technical Assistance
Christopher Bartek   Editing
Nik Trekov   Mixing Assistant
Zakk Cervini   Mixing Engineer
David Lukacs   Engineer