According to their Facebook page, I Am Giant‘s influences are as diverse as Radiohead, A Perfect Circle and Rage Against The Machine. On paper, that sounds like a band worthy of your attention and listening time. Indeed, the New Zealand four piece have already found monumental success in their native territory, with their debut hitting No. 2 in the charts. Couple that with an Australian tour with Slash, and you can see they are aiming for global success. The big question is, do they match up to their good fortune?
The first single from the album – “Purple Heart” – is a standard but competent sounding radio-friendly tune that may owe a fair amount to Pearl Jam, given its anthemic nature. Unfortunately, this is where the record peaks and rapidly starts to lose momentum. Throughout the record the songs evoke the sound of the early 2000s, where for a short period, a number of bands tried to capitalise on the success of Incubus and miserably failed to emulate them (I’m looking at you Hoobastank!). Essentially, I Am Giant have joined the ranks of third/fourth rate versions of Incubus. Whilst there are still some occasional redeeming moments, for example, the ever so slightly intense riffage demonstrated in closing track “After The War”, this simply is a collection of limp post-grunge tunes that will appeal only to the less adventurous of music fans.
It’s a shame because these guys did look like a band who might have distanced themselves from the overly -saturated MOR-friendly rock market, but instead stand amongst those who are ready-made for the arenas. Therein lies The Horrifying Truth.
[Rating:2]
