Big Gigantic - Free Your Mind (2LP) - Marbled Yellow Vinyl

Big Gigantic have always been the rare dance act that can pull a club to its feet with the same tools that would light up a jazz room. Free Your Mind arrived in late February 2020, right before the world shut down, and it felt like a rallying cry from a duo that had spent the previous decade honing a very particular chemistry. Dominic Lalli’s tenor sax sings over synths with a bright, brassy presence, while Jeremy Salken’s live drums lock in with the low end in a way that makes even the slickest production feel human. After the four year gap since Brighter Future, this record plays like a reset, a reminder of why their blend of funk, hip hop and festival sized electronica still hits.

The opening run leans into uplift. Melodies are simple enough to hum after one pass, yet the arrangements carry little production twists that reward a closer listen. Lalli will mock a melody on keys, mirror it on sax, then scatter the phrase with a quick flourish before the drop. Salken’s drums are recorded with real room, so even when the kick is punching through a sub friendly mix, the cymbals shimmer and the snare has a woody crack. It is a dance record, sure, but it refuses to sand off the edges. You can hear the breath in the horn and the stick on the skins.

Vocal features are used as colour, not crutches. Hooks arrive like spotlights that throw the instrumentals into relief, then fade to let the sax steer again. The duo have long favoured collaborations, and here the guests slide across styles, from warm, radio ready choruses to verses that nod to classic blog era rap. What ties it all together is the tone. Free Your Mind wears its title like a mission statement. The songs keep circling ideas of release, gratitude and small wins. It is dance floor catharsis, but it is not empty. Even the biggest drops feel earned because the band spends time building harmonies, stacking percussion and letting motifs return with new colours.

One of the joys of Big Gigantic is how clearly you can map the line between the studio and the stage. You hear patterns designed for call and response, drum fills that practically beg for a crowd cheer, sax riffs built to echo off canyon walls at Red Rocks. That live first mentality gives the album a sturdy spine. Tracks peak in waves rather than a single cliff drop, so repeat plays do not dull the impact. It also helps that the pair are tasteful with their sound palette. There is plenty of modern bass weight, but also Rhodes chords, chimes, guitar slashes and handclaps that feel pulled from a crate of seventies soul.

If you have any history with Big Gigantic vinyl, you will know why this album is worth the wax. The horn sits in a sweet spot, bright without bite, and the stereo field is wide enough to breathe, which makes a side play feel like a small show in your lounge. The kick and bass translate cleanly, and the quieter intros sound lovely on a decent setup. If you are digging through a Melbourne record store or browsing for vinyl records Australia wide, the Free Your Mind vinyl pressing is the one that will convert a casual listener. It is friendly, high gloss Big G, but with enough grit to keep you coming back.

Free Your Mind also landed at a strange moment for touring bands, and that context lingers. Some of these tunes were clearly built to be road tested then refined, yet the record stands on its own because the duo understand momentum. Tempos shift just enough to reset your ear. A late night cut will give way to a sunny, hands in the air jam. Sax hooks recur like old friends, and the drum sound never stops feeling alive. It is easy to imagine favourite bits turning into call signs at festivals, but on headphones the details have their say.

For collectors and crate diggers, this is a solid entry point into Big Gigantic albums on vinyl. If you want to buy Big Gigantic records online, this one gives you the full picture of what the duo do well, from hooky horn lines to grounded, human drums. It is the sound of two players trusting their lane, letting light in, and giving dance music a bit of soul without losing the plot. In a catalogue built for big rooms and happy crowds, Free Your Mind is the reminder that joy also lives in the little production moments, the breath before the drop, the flick of a stick on a rim, the sax phrase that hangs in the air for one extra beat.