| Big Deal | |
| Origin: | Underwood: California, USA Costelloe: London, UK |
| Genre: | Pop rock, new wave, synthpop |
| Years Active: | 2011 - 2016 |
| Associated Acts: | Depeche Mode |
| Website: | https://wearebigdeal.bandcamp.com/ |
| Current Members: | Kacey Underwood Alice Costelloe |
| Past Members: | Mel Rigby Huw Webb |
Big Deal were a pop/rock band composed of Kacey Underwood and Alice Costelloe. Underwood was raised near Yucca Valley in California while Costelloe came from an artistic household in London.[1] They rose to prominence following the release of their second album June Gloom which received airplay on BBC 6Music in 2013.Support for the band from grass roots movements and Lauren Laverne of 6Music have seen the band invited to tour Europe with Depeche Mode in 2014. On 1 September 2016 they announced they had decided to break up.[2]
2011's Lights Out, a 12 track LP, is a collection of folk and grunge folk songs and recorded without a drum or bass track. Produced by Underwood and notable producer Dean Reid who had worked with Nelly Furtado and Lana Del Rey[3] the boy-girl folk simplicity with twin guitars and harmonies produce what Sam Wolfson of NME called "More grungy than gooey" and saw the release of three video singles "Talk", "Chair" and the haunting "Homework". While "Talk" became a single release in its own right, it was "Homework" that emerged as the duet's first writing attempts together.[4]
2013's June Gloom was released on June 4 and featured regularly on BBC 6Music radio.[5] Its lead single Swapping Spit[6] was accompanied by a live video clip all in VHS taping style. The heavy, grunge guitars of Costelloe and Underwood coupled with the heavily compressed explosive drumming of new addition Mel Rigby saw a distinct change from 2011's Lights Out. Bass guitarist Huw Webb provided a musical shadow to Costelloe's rhythm guitar work and, with Rigby, brought the band from a dual guitar folk duet to an explosive wall-of-sound band of dynamic shifts and crafted songwork. Heather Phares of allmusic[7] reviewed June Gloom and wrote "Here and throughout the album, Big Deal is nostalgic not just for the sounds of the '90s, but for the best--and worst--parts of being in love."
Notable live gigs in support of June Gloom included July 13 at Herk-de-Stad's Rock Herk and London's Love Box on the 20th of July and Secret Garden Party in Cambridge on the 27th of July. With a doubling of personnel on stage, live performances at this time strongly acknowledged the shoe-gaze influences of Underwood and Costelloe, with the band minimally interacting with the audience. Live performances were also reminiscent of influences of Pixies, where the polished June Gloom album was recreated live with the assistance of multiple effects (mostly from Underwood) and translated from studio to live successfully.
Released 10 June 2016, Say Yes was Big Deal's third and final album. Created during the break up of Costelloe and Underwood's relationship, the production of the album was also marred by losing all their demos when Underwood's laptop was stolen at a house party and leaving their record label Mute. The project was self-funded and was picked up by FatCat Records with most of the record finished, and to generally favourable reviews.[8] [9] [10] When the band unexpectedly split in September 2016, their tour and festival appearances were cancelled.