Rockin' Our Turntable: The Giraffes

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 6, 2008 7:30PM

The Giraffes hail from Brooklyn, but their sound is total Midwestern crunch, strewn with debris and overloaded guitars. Add in a dash of desert stoner attitude and you get a decent impression of what the band is all about. Their new album, Prime Motivator, is a sprawling collection of riffs, electric guitar vibrato, and a gallon's worth of sneering swagger. It's been argued -- and we've agreed -- that the whole stoner rock genre is pretty oversaturated. But then a band like The Giraffes comes along and reminds you why so many other bands wanted to get into the same game in the first place.

Lyrically the band isn't plumbing any great depths, but that's not really the pint, is it? The point is to break out massive breakdowns mid-song, as in the alternately chugging and crashing "Smoke Machine," thrash about, and sweat profusely. We saw them play a few months ago and were caught of guard by how viciously the band presents their material on-stage. The album is tight and well constructed, but live the songs spill out and sprawl all over each other as the bend bends over its gear and gets down to the serious business of spreading the rock.

Get with it.

The Giraffes play tonight at Liar's Club, 1665 W Fullerton, 10 p.m., $5, 21+