Giant Drag - This Isn't It

There's an iron fist under there that'll knock your teeth out

Single Review by Alex Kirk | 16 May 2006
Single title: This Isn't It
Artist: Giant Drag
Label: web only
This Isn't It comes off this LA two-piece's debut long-player Hearts & Unicorns amid a flurry of references to the like of, among others, My Bloody Valentine, The Pixies, and PJ Harvey. Such hyperbolic claims and comparisons are par for the course for any new band, but there is something uncannily 1990s about the sound, especially the Sonic Youth 100%-era guitars and big fat Breeders-style drums. Singer Annie Hardy's laconic drawl also sounds much like you'd expect Kim Deal to just after she gets out of bed. All of these are good points in themselves of course, but what really gets the pulses racing is that the song manages to restrain itself from anything obvious, radio-friendly or formulaic, holding back from a predictable shift into chorus, or descending into sheer noise. Instead, this is a record of self-confidence and poise, panache and assurance. Without ever raising her voice, Hardy's vocal screams at you louder than Karen O ever managed - the fuzzed guitars might sound like six-stringed velvet, but there's an iron fist under there that'll knock your teeth out.
This Isn't It is out April 24th through Kickball / Interscope
The album, Hearts & Unicorns, is out now http://www.giantdrag.com