I\u2019m going to go out on a limb here and say that Under The Influence of Giants’ debut is one of the best albums of this year. I\u2019m hoping this one sticks, unlike when I predicted James Blunt would never make it big and now he’s played every other song. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to say what\u2019s had me so fascinated with the Giants ever since I heard their EP, Heaven Is Full. <\/i>\u00a0Maybe it\u2019s because they\u2019re from my hometown, Los Angeles. Or that they sound like everything from Prince to ELO to George Michael to Earth, Wind & Fire, switching it up each time the track changes. Either way, these guys (guitarist Drew Stewart, bassist David Amezcua, Jamin Wilcox on drums and keyboards and lyricist\/vocalist Aaron Bruno) are fantastic. <\/p>\n
From start to finish, the album is infectiously catchy, which is why you\u2019re inevitably going to end up having tracks like \u201cGot Nothing\u201d, which brings back seventies funk with explosive choruses, horns and Bruno\u2019s versatile vocals, buzzing around in your head long after they\u2019re done playing. <\/p>\n
The best thing about the Giants is that they\u2019re impossible to pin down; one minute you\u2019ve got a song like \u201cAh-Ha\u201d grooving along and then, next, they\u2019ve jumped into Beatles mode with the warm, swaying pop melodies of \u201cI Love You,\u201d before turning around and busting out pounding dance beats and growling vocals on synth-rocker \u201cIn The Clouds.\u201d <\/p>\n
The best moment on the record, though, definitely has to go to its lead single, \u201cMama\u2019s Room,\u201d which draws you in from the moment the guitar intro starts up. With its swirling, retro rhythm and lyrics about seduction in, where else, Mom\u2019s bedroom, it\u2019s nearly impossible not to be entertained (or sing along). <\/p>\n
The Giants have proved that pop doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be cheesy and that music doesn\u2019t always have to have a larger, overarching message to be considered great or enjoyable. So, as summer winds down and you want that perfect album to pop in whenever, whether you\u2019re bored at work or cruising down the highway or just relaxing, Under The Influence of Giants <\/i>is it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":28468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7799],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-39920","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-under-the-influence-of-giants","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39920"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}