Review Summary: I Kill Giants have returned once again, however, this time musically and lyrically they have more passion, emotion, and energy
I Kill Giants have returned once again, however, this time musically and lyrically they have more passion, emotion, and energy.Ever since the very beginning of the career of I Kill Giants, they have had some lyrically and musically remarkable talent. From the first release of Fall 2011, Let It Out, to the latter release of Spring 2012, We Can Live In The Exact Same Place, they have changed their sound more and more. I can vividly remember the time that I listened to them for the first time; at first, I hate to admit it, but I did not like the sound of their first release, Let It Out. However, I admired and loved their latter release of the next year, We Can Live In The Exact Same Place, because the sound of the band, especially the vocals, was one step closer to being developed and matured.
This year, I Kill Giants have released their first LP and I must say that I have never ever felt more deeply in love with an album than I did with I Kill Giants LP. To begin with, Dylan Hanwright, front man of I Kill Giants, along with Christopher Lee are absolutely incredible and have outdone themselves on this LP. From the blood-pumping yet soothing and lighthearted tracks like Traveler, Larry Jr, and Calendar, to the resonant screams and spine chilling vocals of Part 1/Part 2. Particularly, Part 1/Part 2 because at the end of the track where Chris screams, "The first time I ever felt alive, I was fourteen when he clocked me right in the eye..." sends shivers down my spine, making me want to cringe involuntarily.
The tone and mood of this album instrumentally almost feels blissful, however, at times vocally the album can feel almost depressing and haunting. Instrumentally, the album is fantastic, the guitars are more bright and shimmering than ever before. The drum work I must say is really really impressive despite how pretentious that may sound, the fact is true. Sander creates some wonderfully crafted and complex snare work along with some fast-paced and heart-pounding drum fills. In addition to the different kind of sounds, beautifully-harmoninc trumpets can be heard on quieter tracks like Windmills and the full instrumental track, Pigskins, which gives more jazz-swing like feel to the album.
The album closes with the track, Boys of Bummer, which by far resembles the math-emo sound of earlier tracks like Lucky Shirt and Collector, but gives more closure and concludes the album with soaring guitars and spastic drum groove. In conclusion, this band has really improved from their previous releases and has grown to become more than your standard twinkly emo band. They have grown into something far more beautiful and I am looking forward to seeing this band again.