Song You Need to Know: Big Nothing, ‘Carried Away’
The Philly-based band Big Nothing is something of a modern indie-rock supergroup, bringing together former members of Crybaby, Young Livers, Casual and Spraynard. But their sense of recent rock history can’t be denied. On “Carried Away” and other songs on their debut album, Chris, they adhere to what have become the time-honored basics of the Nineties underground.
The song glides along on a bed of plush guitar chime, erupts briefly during its surging chorus and even features a brief, clammy bass solo (by way of member Liz Parsons) that brings to mind any number of Clinton-era Lollapalooza tours. You almost expect Sunny Day Real Estate, Superchunk or the Promise Ring to show up when the song finishes.
Is “Carried Away” retro? Probably. Utterly winning and beguiling? Absolutely. The band shares lead vocal duties throughout Chris (which follows 2017’s self-titled EP), and “Carried Away” spotlights guitarist-singer Matt Quinn, whose lyrics conjure a missing loved one by way of lovely detail: “Your mother’s waking up/While your father’s sleeping in/On the porch I’m knocking soft/But no one’s listening.” We’ve all been in a situation like that –- searching for someone who’s no longer in our lives – and “Carried Away” evokes both a sense of loss and a rush of positive memories. It’s a sad song that will make you feel good.