Biography

Brisbane, Australia's Big Heavy Stuff formed in 1990, consisting of drummer Darren Atkinson, guitarist/vocalist Greg Atkinson, bassist Darren Jones (ex-Dutiful Daughters), and guitarist/vocalist Carolyn Polley (ex-Toys Went Berserk). The Atkinsons had spent part of the late '80s in the Ups and Downs, a jangle pop band. Inspired by English dream pop and the noisier independent scene in the U.S., they opted to form Big Heavy Stuff, a brainy rock band with perfectionist tendencies. BHS debuted with the Pops Like Crazy EP on Volition in 1991. A couple of singles preceded their first full-length, 1993's formative Truck. The rhythm section left after its release and was replaced by bassist Eliot Fish (ex-Apartments, Templebears) and drummer Nick Kennedy (Knievel). Two more CD EPs were scattered between 1994 and early 1997. In 1995, the band received their only U.S. release with the Birthday single (two songs from the Covered in Bruises EP), issued on Jawbox's DeSoto label. Maximum Sincere, the band's highly rated second LP, was released in mid-1997 on Hypnotized/Shock. Four more singles for the label were issued during the year. Adam Young (ex-Daisygrinders) replaced the departed Polley, who left a couple months after the album's release. Signed with V2 subsidiary Ivy League, 1999 saw the release of the Devil's Tongue single. An LP for the band's new label never saw the light of day. With an album's worth of material completed but shelved for over a year, the band eventually landed on Redline, who issued 2001's Size of the Ocean. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi