Auckland husband and wife Mickey and Kelly Sinfield have been performing together as Big House since 2005.
‘With Love’, 15-tracks long, is their debut album. The acknowledged Beach Boys’ influence is immediately noticeable in the first track, Self Respect, an upbeat swingy song with strong harmonies.
Though most of the instruments sound digitally created, they are adeptly arranged, and along with the rich vocals build a full band sound.
Big House are easy to listen to without quite being easy listening.
In general ‘With Love’ has an indie or folkish sound, but later track One Vision branches out completely. It’s a synth-pop song different in every way to the rest of the album, showing off Mickey’s non-vocal chops.
The Sinfelds have very similar sounding voices, and really do sound like two people who have been singing together regularly for 12 years.
The lyrics are poetic, often heartfelt, and their songs sound like they are self-expressive, rather than trying to be anything in particular.
Overall, the clean production, big warm harmonies and the way Mickey and Kelly’s voices just fit perfectly together make ‘With Love’ a solid and pleasant debut.
