Customer Reviews

Hearts & Unicorns

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Giant Drag is an exciting new band from Los Angeles. It features Annie Hardy who is 24 years old. She plays guitar and sings. Micah Calabrese plays drums and keyboards (at the same time!). Their EP came out a while ago, and it showed some promise. Now the full album is here and it's one of the records of the year. The whole album rocks. The first song "Kevin Is Gay" has the big rock sound that is amazing and gets your attention. Some older songs "Cordial Invitation" and "This Isn't It" come next which remind me of some shoegazer stuff and punk rock follow this. Some songs like "YFLMD" and "My D*** Sux" is more like heavy rock and grunge. One of the best new songs is "Pretty Little Neighbor." This song is about living in the suburbs. "Blunt Picket Fence" is one of the oldest songs. At first it sounded like Mazzy Star, but now it sounds really special. Another cool song is "You're Full Of S***." In some of their songs there is a big build up and great dynamics. "Everything Worse" is almost like a blues song. On this whole album there is a great drum sound. It's truly amazing. One of the last songs "Smashing" is a slow song full of emotion and atmosphere. The last song is the upbeat "Slayer." It feels like a day with a lot of sun, like returning to California after months in cold weather. Annie Hardy is a talented songwriter. This is a band to be on the lookout for. Giant Drag may be taking over soon. This is one of the important records to come out this year.

Throw me some muses Annie, what in the good God's name of Polly Jean Harvey is going on here? Giant drag? What's a giant drag? Chris Isaak standing you up when you were only 8 is a drag. Chris Isaak letting you play wicked game on track 13 is not a drag, but just plain wicked in a giant way. A perfect updating with sonic guitars and a coy female lead. Nice, it reminds me of a rendition of Floyd's Brick in the Wall by a little California group I heard on a USO tour. Nice little fuzzed out spin on this Isaak standard.

So who is this Giant Drag and what is the giant buzz about? It's little Annie Hardy who looks all of 12 years of age. I don't think she's a mousketeer though since she has played at all kinds of over 21 venues in her day along with Pretty Girls Make Graves. So it's Annie on her fuzzed out guitar singing with the coying pipes and either Micah Calabrese or some guy named Eli on the drums and keyboards. I see someone is comparing them to My Bloody Valentine. Well, friends I wouldn't know about that but she does summon up all sorts of Throwing Muses, PJ Harvey, and a little bit of Silversun Pickups to boot. Track 3, "This isn't it," might as well be Tanya Donneley at the top of her game with that perfect blend of pop perfectery just sitting on the edge of turmoil.

Yflmd, the 4th track has a little bit of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs going on. These guys get a lot of sound from two musicians aka The White Stripes but do it they do and do it well. So I've tried to capture this Giant Drag sound by comparing them to all sorts of other bands just so you can get a little of their flavor but they seem to blazing a trail that draws closely to these influences but madly creates their own sound. With a price that kills or at least is friendly on the wallet I can think of no good reason to pass up giving the Giant Drag a giant try. At least you get to hear Annie devolving into a series of meows at the end of track 1 and hear her riffing on Isaak's Wicked Game...worth the price of admission alone.
--MMW

I saw Giant Drag last night in Portland and was very impressed with their sound, story, and stage presence. They deserve more recognition and probably will receive it. Their CD is listed on a top ten list on All Song Considered on NPR and there is a great picture of Annie there for a recent episode

They are a young band with a sound that I think includes Breeders, Nirvana, and My Bloody Valentine - without any fingerprints and very strong drumming. Their sound is fantastic -- even beautiful -- and at this time their lyrics are clever and biting. Annie is a wonderful comic with a great ability to attack and break every balloon in sight -- addressing subject such as incest, gay life, -- even the size of your member.

They have the ability to address issues of the day and the absurdity of modern life and politics. They have an almost Dadaistic since of comedy. I hope they can go beyond the teen and social scene concerns and reach a wider audience. They can if they, like the Swiss Dadaist-punk rockers Liliput, leave fear behind and decide to be free, wild, and funny -- they could become a unique and powerful band with great music and an absurdist comic message.

There aren't enough hard rock bands fronted by women. At least, not enough to get mainstream attention. Then again, maybe that's a good thing? Mainstream attention isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Annie Hardy has a voice like an adolescent cartoon chipmunk on a caffeine rush, and she makes enough noise with her guitar for anyone to sit up and take notice. The feedback suggest My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr, and Yo La Tengo, but Giant Drag add melodies, riffs, and hooks that bring them closer in spirit to the Pixies and Nirvana. They put the noise back in rock'n'roll.

The opening number, "Kevin is Gay," is the best of the lot, probably, but the high level of quality keeps up, with "This Isn't It", "YFLMD", and "Everything's Worse". Not every song is spectacular, but none of them are bad. That's actually high praise right there: how many albums have you listened to with a handful of excellent songs, and the rest you'd never listen to again?

Not many bands in the last few years have caught my attention quite like this one. Hopefully Ms. Hardy will come out with another album before the end of the decade!

...but there is definitely something special about this band. I think it just boils down to great songwriting, and highly addictive songs that you want to listen to over and over. Annie Hardy (vocals/guitar) has the ability to construct a song using probably no more than 3 chords and still make that song unique and awesome. There is a nice mix of melody and atmosphere on this album and every song is pretty much great. Annie's vocals also range from delicate/soft (i.e. Cordial Invitation), to more angst-filled (i.e. My D*** S***) and everything inbetween. I don't know much about genres such as indie rock, shoegazing, etc., (aside from a few bands) but suffice it to say that Giant Drag has made me want to delve into these genres.

I just found out a few days ago that the drummer/synths Micah has quit the band (don't think this is a rumor) so it will be interesting to see what Annie has up her sleeve for the next album as she is the only member left. In all though, Giant Drag is a band full of potential and I hope that they (considering Annie hires someone else) get the recognition they deserve in the near future.

Giant Drag is my new muse. Can't for the life of me figure out why these guys aren't way more popular, but I suspect those tides are turning. In any event, checked these guys out before a concert in DC, and was stunned by how great they were. Annie sounds like Sarah Vowell's younger and more vulgar sister (which is a compliment, for anyone wondering), and their live set was superb. Even a friend of mine whose musical tastes never range beyond Top 40 liked them immensely.

So, yeah, buy this quick dudes.

Somehow rewarding that an album like this - in a world of faux bubblegum punk rock, overly-produced boy-bands with calculated angst and a corporate radio top-40 of mostly annoying alternative classic hits circa '92 - there can come a band incorporating the same "soundscape" elements; yet, with their "pathos" / lyrical wit, supercede 97% of the other Stooges- Ramones-knockoffs. Take, for instance, "This Isn't It" - it's got great sound with its new production, but the production isn't at the expense of the band's brilliance (an example might be a nothing-sounds-like sound such as with Offspring or Stone Temple Pilots, etc.) THIS is the real deal. Kinda Blondie meets My Bloody Valentine meets The Slits - in all the best ways. Songs that move mountains: "Slayer," "Smashing," "Kevin Is Gay," etc. - Highest marks!

Sometimes music can prove to be both highly weird and accessible at the same time, and Giant Drag are another prime example of that musical contradiction. When a band can masterfully intertwine weird tracks like "Kevin Is Gay" with the more digestible "This Isn't It," you are truly hearing an act in a very exclusive league. Lead singer/guitarist Annie Hardy is the quintessential rock frontwoman in the atypical frontwoman's body. She sings with guts and angst and you might not really expect it by just looking at her, as she looks like that shy, quiet kid nobody talked to... but probably went home and rocked out to a bunch of old punk rock records while dismantling plastic dolls. Her lyrics do seem sophmoric and childish at times, but you expect that to come with the territory, and figure she'll grow out of it in time. We'll be there with her when it happens, too. As of right now though, you'll be amazed that you actually like a song called "My D*** Sux" (figure it out) or "YFLMD" (google it. It won't take long to read what that stands for either).

And let's not forget about the other band member. Just judging by the look of melacholy he shows throughout the album artwork makes you wonder if he's wondering how in the world he ever got involved in this music thing with Annie. It's too late to back out now though, chief. Strap yourself in. Besides, you're cool enough because you can play another instrument while on the drums.

And I'd just like to point out that this band really IS NOT like My Bloody Valentine much at all. Yes, "Cordial Invitation" has a touch of MBV reverence to it, but as you're reading this review completely clueless to what Giant Drag sound like, think more along the lines of the Pixies or the Breeders instead of MBV, okay? Okay.

I'm in the Uk and bought this on import in November - I'm still playing it; forget the comparisons you've read, yes you can hear MBV (for about two seconds of an intro), yes you can hear The Breeders (well on one track Annie harmonises with herself and sounds a bit like Kim Deal in gentle mode) - I've also seen comparisons with Nirvana, Hole, Mazzy Star, Pixies, Juliana Hatfield, Dinosaur Jr, Liz Phair.......get this, I can hear The Sundays, Sonic Youth and Cat Power too. What does all that mean ? The extremes of those comparisons don't sound anything like each other and the more comparisons there are the closer you are to being unique. Who knows what makes a great album ? The only test for me is if I can't stop playing it.......and I can't stop playing it. So get it now !!

This sounds like a fusion between My Bloody Valentine and The Breaders.

Nothing but praise,,,they rock!