Back to the Rockets!!!Gigantor |
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Wasn't there a monster named "Gigantor" like from those old Japanese sci-fi movies with the bad overdubs? Must have been… well in any instance, Gigantor as a band has little to do with Japanese monster movies or big green creatures out for a nightly stroll over the town… These happy astronauts hail from Hanover, Germany by the looks of things and as is usually the case, they're musicianship is tight… maybe not as tightly wound as they're singing but an expert display nonetheless-all the more significant considering their Power Pop and Punk anglings. What we get from the beginning is an immediate lift off into the stars on such wondrously astral movements as "Pop The Cork," "The Chameleon," and the fond remembrance represented by "Marilyn Memorial Day," with the latter being amongst the melodious and sincere of the early going. Falling briefly back down to earth to recharge their rocket boosters the guys quickly blast back off into the strata and this time at a faster clip than before with "3rd Booth By The Window," and "Nar-Cis-Sis-Sick" two further examples of unrestrained youth poking through the screen door of normalcy… then again, I've read over most of the lyrics twice and I'll be Goddamned if I can figure out what they're trying to say in most cases… and I thought I'd have trouble with the accents! Go figure… I hate to overuse this ideal whenever we hear of Power Pop music or those of the lighter shade of Punk but it'll be brief-they mention, in what looks like it's in passing-names like Rancid and Cheap Trick, somewhat indirectly in the "Nar-Cis-Sis-Sick" tune earlier which I was hoping to avoid retyping… well naturally I'll draw the comparison, they're on the edgier side of Rancid, many of the similarities mainly in tempo, ranging from mid-to quick, while the vocalism of the one known simply as "Gagu" definitely recalls the coarser side of one Robin Zander during their more inspired years. "Back to the Rockets!!!" is Gigantor's fifth record to date in a ten year span that's seen them rise among the many prized German (an assumption to be sure-but they've got enough polish and come from enough different angles to make it easy to believe even considering the limited exposure such bands draw throughout the rest of the world) Punk Rock acts though I'll withhold calling them the "best" out of Germany for the moment because Die Toten Hosen's been doing it a lot longer and has a leg up… but Gigantor's definitely not far behind. Released by Rotten Records Review by Vinnie Apicella
[va85@columbia.edu] |