Interview: Big Deal - "Any Fool Can Make Something Complicated..."

Attempting to gauge the level of sexual tension that may or may not exist between two people can be a tricky business, whatever the circumstances. It's a task made all the more difficult when conducted down a telephone line. Kacey Underwood (formerly of London-based also-rans Little Death) and Alice Costelloe, better known as Anglo-American boy/girl indie duo Big Deal, could well be speaking to me whilst sat at opposite ends of the sofa; alternatively, there's the lingering possibility that I've just interrupted a great big spooning session.

This ‘are they?/aren’t they?’ dilemma lends Big Deal's bittersweet, ambiguous songs an enduring appeal. With four basic ingredients to the pair's sound – fuzzy electric guitar, Yank drawl, gentle acoustic strums and breathy female vocals – the upfront vocals are given a prominence that makes the listening experience akin to being a fly-on-the-wall during one of those intimate conversations.

Which brings us to those lyrics. Recent single 'Chair', for instance, reads like a jilted diary entry: its words ("You don't trust me to sit on your bed… / Only want me for the songs I write about you, about how I like you… / Don't you wanna have that morning again? / Wanna be your lover, trying hard to be your friend"), by turns confessional and revealing, are mostly sung in unison by Underwood and Costelloe, giving the distinct impression that one is directly addressing the other.

It's a tendency that repeats itself throughout the band's recently-released debut album, Lights Out, drawing the listener in by threatening to divulge the gory details of a relationship that's either on the edge or else perilously close to it. To preserve the fragile mystery of those lyrics, I decide against asking Kacey or Alice directly if they are currently, or ever have been, more than just a musical couple. Instead, I skirt around the topic, which has the inadvertent effect of making us all feel slightly awkward.

“Our lyrics are a dual process”, Alice begins, keeping her cards pressed firmly to her chest.

Then, by way of subtly implying that this might be an out-of-bounds topic, Kacey deadpans: “Sometimes we just start typing words into Google, and when Google finishes the sentence for us we just use that…”

Finding myself somewhat stranded down a conversational cul-de-sac, I sensibly reason the pair would probably prefer to talk more about their music than their sleeping arrangements.

They first met when Alice started taking guitar lessons, after her mum had recommended a music teacher at the primary school where she worked. Kacey was that music teacher.

"The first song I asked to be taught was 'Teenage Riot' by Sonic Youth", remembers Alice.

So, was becoming a musical duo a situation borne more out of necessity or choice?

“It was a necessity that became a choice, I guess”, answers Kacey. “We like the fact that we don’t have to rely on a bunch of people to get things done. The bigger something is, the more things there are that can go wrong.”

And how does the streamlined setup shape the songs?

“Painting someone’s portrait, compared to working on a huge landscape, means there has to be much more detail”, begins Kacey’s analogy. “There are so few sounds present that you have to make sure they’re absolutely perfect”, Alice clarifies.

Big Deal’s sound follows a 'too many cooks' ethos pretty strictly. It’s quite refreshing to learn that they don’t seem to feel any pressure or need to add any more frills to the songs. At least, not just yet.

“Neither of us likes music that is really grandiose,” explains Kacey. “Even with a pretty complicated band like Arcade Fire, none of their parts are virtuoso. And some Strokes songs seem almost classically composed when you look at them closely, but that’s just the way all the parts fit together. Neither of those bands are out to prove something grand... At the end of the day, it’s all about the song working.”

“There’s a really good quote from Woody Guthrie somewhere...”, Kacey continues. “Ah, I know the one you’re thinking of", interjects Alice, "but I know you’re not going to remember it!”

“Haha. No, I’m gonna prove you wrong!”, returns Kacey. “It goes ‘Any fool can make something complicated, but it takes a genius to make something simple’”.

“Not that I’m saying we’re geniuses!”, he hastily adds, while Alice laughs.

I ask them both about the comparisons with other bands they’ve been picking up in the press recently. Do they act as an encouragement, or are they somewhat annoyingly predictable?

“It’s strange, because everyone compares us to these bands we never listen to", Alice replies. "I’ve never actually even heard a Kills song.”

“I guess it makes sense from an outside perspective because of the basic setup of just having a boy and a girl”, Kacey chips in. “We do sometimes stop ourselves, though, because we’ll be in the middle of writing and we’ll go 'this bit sounds too much like such-and-such a band'. But funnily enough, no one has yet compared us to one of those bands we’re always worried about being likened to… And no, I’m not going to tell you who those bands are!”

“We’re looking at it from the way we write, and the themes we sing about...”, begins Kacey, “...for the most part, though, it’s bands who've been able to write with a similar level of honesty as us that have been the biggest influences”, concludes Alice.

With so much baggage ostensibly attached to the lyrics, before I go I ask them how it must feel playing the songs live night after night.

There's a considered pause, before Alice carefully responds: "Playing live is draining for anyone, simply because you’re giving so much of yourself just by standing there... But it can also be cathartic."

"We sweat quite a lot!", Kacey laughs.

Lights Out is out now on Mute. Big Deal have a handful of UK live dates coming up next month: they play Liverpool's MOJO venue on November 4, before appearing at this year's Constellations Festival in Leeds on November 12. Their final headline show of the year takes place at The Lexington in North London on November 21.