Bria Salmena’s Big Dog chronicles a story of transformation–a deeply personal exploration of resilience and a declaration of artistic independence forged through collaboration. Long celebrated as the frontwoman of Canadian post-punk outfit FRIGS and as a vocalist in Orville Peck’s live band, Salmena culminates her artistic evolution on her debut solo album, and marks the arrival of an artist boldly coming into her own. Salmena recorded the album with producer and multi-instrumentalist Duncan Hay Jennings, her closest creative collaborator with who she’d previously produced her Cuntry Covers EPs. Graham Walsh (Holy F**k) helped the pair further refine their budding mix of rock and electronic music, while Meg Remy (U.S. Girls) focused primarily on Salmena’s unforgettable vocal performance that lie at the centre of Big Dog. Big Dog’s sound hovers between two worlds, gritty punk honesty always simmering below gleaming atmospherics. It takes elements of hypnotic krautrock and shimmery shoegaze, opulent goth, and pulsing darkwave, with a smearing of electronic textures for a sophisticated and often uncanny sound. There are alternative rock touchstones—you’ll hear Live Through This, Kate Bush, Mazzy Star —and one genuine alternative rock icon in Lee Ranaldo, who contributes guitar to “See’er.” But there’s also a sleekness that’s just as much a callback to ‘80s coldwave as it is to ecstatic forms of dance music. Amidst this vast sonic landscape, Salmena’s potent lyrical imagery and gorgeous vocals are a constant warm glow within a mesh of mechanical sound and stands dead center, perfectly in focus.
