Under The Influence Of Giants - self-titled LP
Under The Influence of Giants

there are so many bands i discover daily that, after a while, it's hard to find anything truly worth writing about them other than my honest recommendation. it's also hard to keep within the attention-span-allotment of most readers - i really only get a certain amount of space before you say, "alright Shan, give us the god damn mp3 already."

but this band is an exception. first of all, check out their name; not only does it ring in your head, but it does the work for me by literally and blatantly defining their music style. yes, every band takes inspiration from the great Americana/British Invasion music gods - but this band is all about it.

a first listen to any single track on the album draws shockingly instant and direct comparisons to none other than the Bee-Gees - and yes, i mean their disco era. take their hyperactively catchy single Mama's Room, for instance. immediately you hear the beat and the sonic energy of I Feel Like Dancin'. when we first heard it, we almost thought it was tongue-in-cheek, it's so out of left field.

before any of this drives you away (as even the word is wont to do), disco isn't the only influence. there's a very heavy dose of Prince and Michael Jackson (pre-creepy), as well as Earth, Wind & Fire (horns) and some R&B, some funk - yeah. some of everything. i wouldn't be recommending you a cheesy mash-up pop band.

essentially - it's insanely, infectiously catchy. it's the best kind of guilty pleasure because it's so well done and they're very instrumentally confident in their rip-offs.. and don't worry, it's not disco, it's not soul, it's not funk... it's just under the influence.

::::i know, i know, take the mp3 already:
Under The Influence Of Giants - Mama's Room (recommended)
Under The Influence Of Giants - Heaven Is Full

i'm a little late on posting this - i'd picked up the two tracks above about a hundred years ago and was just recently handed their free EP, consequently forcing me to remember they existed. their album dropped August 8th on Island, and as a result of honing their craft on their Myspace they're starting to get quite the wave of attention from the kids and even MTV. cool.
buy the self-titled album now  shan  1:41 PM  |  view comments (1)