Look at the Big Brain on Detroit
When I say it’s hard to classify Detroit experimentalists Giant Brain‘s new album, Thorn of Thrones (Small Stone), understand it is a compliment, because the band’s obvious intention is to be more than one thing at one time. Complexity is a virtue, and if their electronically-influenced stoner/Kraut groove is anything, it is that; drawing on classic ’70s prog as much as heavily distorted modern power riffing (you can hear it on the charmingly and cumbersomely titled “This is Where the Robot Escapes His Evil Captor, Finds Raygun, Plots Revenge”), their sound could put off a lot of heads who either can’t get past the inorganic sound of programmed beats (there are natural drums as well) or who are just unwilling to dig through the band’s sonic puzzle and identify the familiarities beneath, but if we all didn’t have to work once in a while, boundaries would never get pushed.
The mostly instrumental outfit could easily be put off as a vanity project from Al Sutton, producer for the likes of avant-mathematicians Don Caballero and Small Stone mainstays Five Horse Johnson, but together with his brother Andy (who handles the programming and bass), former Big Chief guitarist Phil D?rr and drummer, etc., Eric Hoegemeyer (Deep See Sound System), Sutton taps into a level of versatility that goes beyond mere showing off. The Porcupine Tree-esque acoustic/electric interplay of “Empyrian” — think In Absentia-era — and the straightforward driving riff that propels the eight-minute-long “Gooser” gives the impression that rather than jam out parts and see what happens, Giant Brain pieces begin with specific sound ideas and are fleshed out from there. Little wonder Andy is also listed as responsible for “concepts.”
Thorn of Thrones is unlikely to leave anyone who hears it without an opinion one way or the other, since even if one can’t find something in the dancey “Space Mannequin” that you can’t relate to,?it’s undeniable that the song and indeed the rest of the album boasts enough personality to warrant a reaction positive or negative. Though the tracks at times feel more like part collections or maybe science experiments that got out of hand than actual songs, Giant Brain are nonetheless fostering a unique approach to classic prog and Kraut rock. Considering all the bands out there content to retrofy and rehash what’s been done a thousand times before, any respect they get is well earned.
That doesn’t mean, however, that I’ll be listening to Thorn of Thrones while driving around the valley with the windows open and the stereo turned up. More of an intellectual experience, Giant Brain‘s music demands a careful ear and at very least several listens before a decisive verdict is rendered. I might like to see them focus more on cohesive songcraft next time, and if they were to congeal around a particular sound, to do so around that of closer “Drowner” — led by acoustics with subtle keys in the background — but, with improvisation a big part of their sound, they’re likelier to thrust themselves further into their own sonic multi-directionalism. So be it.
Tags: Detroit, Giant Brain, Small Stone
