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                        Giants - Old Stories
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Artist...............: Giants
Album................: Old Stories
Genre................: Post Rock
Source...............: NMR
Year.................: 2008
Ripper...............: NMR
Codec................: LAME 3.97
Version..............: MPEG 1 Layer III
Quality..............: Standard, (avg. bitrate: 184kbps)
Channels.............: Joint Stereo / 44100 hz
Tags.................: ID3 v1.1, ID3 v2.3
Information..........: http://www.myspace.com/giantsmusic

Ripped by............: NMR
Posted by............: Skid on 9/13/2008
News Server..........: news.easynews.com
News Group(s)........: alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.indie
                       alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.post-rock

Included.............: NFO, SFV, M3U, PAR v2
Covers...............: Front 

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                       Tracklisting
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   1. (00:06:44) Giants - Where The Ages Steal
   2. (00:06:54) Giants - Vessels
   3. (00:06:49) Giants - O Tide
   4. (00:03:34) Giants - Whispered Ears
   5. (00:06:17) Giants - Sleeping False Idol
   6. (00:04:30) Giants - Fishermens Prayer
   7. (00:04:58) Giants - At Last Ashore

Playing Time.........: 00:39:46
Total Size...........: 55.20 MB

NFO generated on.....: 9/13/2008 12:00:23 PM


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"Post-rock" is becoming a term that's tagged onto musicians who can't find 
their place in today's genre system. It's a lot like using the term "new wave" 
in the 70s. Punk was new wave, ska was new wave, synth-based music was 
new wave; a lot of things were "new wave."

And today, Grizzly Bear, Explosions In the Sky, 65daysofstatic, and Mogwai-
-bands that have more differences than similarities--somehow fall under the 
same musical style.

All this new music will eventually be parsed and categorized. All that can be 
said now--accurately--is there's been a growing trend in rock music to slow 
things down, explore the dynamics of sound, and favor more uncommon song 
structures. If this music gets a better depiction in the coming years, there 
probably won't be an argument over whether or not Giants was a part of it.

The band's new LP, Old Stories, is instrumental from beginning to end; it's 
loaded with colorful chords; and the songs fade into one another as if the 
album is to be digested in one sitting. It's all pretty heavy and cerebral. After 
the last track finishes, you may need to sit back, loosen your belt, and take a 
breather.

The crux of this album is it's attention to sound. Every reverbed note rings 
out into an endless cave of echoes, and the crescendos are when the band 
truly sounds larger than life. The production quality makes Giants live up to 
their name--sounding 10 times larger than a Glenn Branca guitar orchestra.

"Where the Ages Steal" is a decent introduction to the LP. Giants' quiet 
builds, mountainous volumes, and haunting melodies give a good taste of 
what's to come on Old Stories. The first increase in volume comes as a bit of a 
surprise, but "ambient" is probably the last thing Giants wants get out of 
listeners' minds.

The next several tracks show more promise since the introduction is now out 
of the way: the builds are more gradual, there's more melodic interplay 
between guitars, and the volume feels like less of an assault, too. For 
example, "Whispered Ears" stands out due to the lack of extremity in its 
build. Rather than concentrating on getting loud, the band let's the marching 
drumbeat build and the clear, undistorted chords ring out into oblivion.

It's hard to conceive a musical interlude on a completely instrumental album, 
but Giants manages to pull it off on "Fishermen's Prayer": a track that sounds 
as vast as the ocean the album's cover depicts. There's a deep, looped drone 
that hums along hypnotically as a minimalist guitar melody gives the listener a 
bit of a breather from the heaviness of the previous track, "Sleeping False 
Idol."

It all ends with the piano-driven "At Last Ashore," which builds in to an 
appropriate drum accompaniment that sits atop a high-pitched drone of 
fluttering guitar notes. This track is home to the album's biggest flaw: its 
ending. Old Stories seems to just leave without waving goodbye, but it's 
understandably difficult to write a sincere ending to music that feels like it 
could go on forever.

But there is a silver lining to every cloud: Without a clear ending, it never 
really feels like Old Stories is over. And that works out since the best part 
about old stories is retelling them.

For more info on Giants, visit myspace.com/giantsmusic and 
cavityrecords.com.

If you're into Giants, you might also like Do Make Say Think, This Will Destroy 
You, and Explosions In the Sky.

-Article by Anthony Fantano
The Needle Drop: http://theneedledrop.blogspot.com/2008/08/review-
giants-old-stories.html

http://www.myspace.com/giantsmusic
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:: Generated by Music NFO Builder v1.20 - www.nfobuilder.com ::