LIVE IN TORONTO

GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES! released this album for free on their bandcamp page, something that as a fan of the band I surely appreciate.

Given the complexity of the music here, it is almost shocking to hear how well the band pulls it off. Other than a moment at the beginning of "When the Catholic Girls..." where the band was probably trying to "freak out" but ended up just sounding messy, they seem to be in complete control of these challenging instrumental tracks.

Of course the track names are as ridiculous as they have ever been for this band making it a challenge to speak about any particular track, but luckily for the most part on this live set each track is great. I am S/H(im)e[r].. has the great spoken word part too, which is nice.

These guy's music is angular, fast, tricky, and a little bit bizarre, but they manage to pull it off live, which is nice. It's amazing to remember that this is just a two piece band (guitars and drum) - they have a really big sound and I always feel there are at least 3-4 guys on stage. The sound quality is good enough that we can hear what the band is up to, but there is a certain amount of audience noise - including an audience member who is far too appreciative to finally see the band (yelling "F*** yeah" every chance he gets). This does drag down the quality of this set a bit which is unfortunate because what the band is doing is spot on pretty much all throughout.

For fans of the band, or those interested in math rock or just complex instrumental rock music, this is definitely a choice album and worth checking out.

This was the first thing I heard from this duo and it serves a great introduction to them. A free download on their Bandcamp page, this was recorded in a small club in Toronto and the sound quality is decent for such a setting. You hear all kinds of audience noise such as cursing and some appreciation for marijuana. The actual performance is stunning, as it's hard to imagine just two people making all this complex racket. There is some use made of samples, loops and different kinds of percussion. No vocals. The song titles are wonderfully absurd, or in other words great.

Generally the music is fast and complex but once in awhile it slows down to a either a riff or a laid-back post-rock vibe. "When The Catholic Girls Go Camping, The Nicotine Vampires Rule Supreme" has a nice alternative/indie riff for the last half. A great guitar solo as the other guitar parts are looped. "F**king Ants Man! Where Are They Coming From? (Let's Hang The Carroll Footnoteitsists)" changes quite a bit and is one of the better songs here. "I Am S/H(im)e(r) As You Am S/H(im)e(r) As You Are Me And We Am I And I Are All Our Together: Our Collective Consciousness' Psychogenic Fugue" has a really cool chamber section with what sounds like bells and violin-sounding guitar. This is followed by weird sounds and sampled talking.

"It's Easy-eeeee To Be Full Of S**t And Look Good In Black" has a nice bass-like part on guitar that is looped. Drummer goes into a straight forward 4/4 beat which is a good contrast to the math-y guitar playing. The title of "DRGNFKR" is missing some vowels. Very complex track. Lots of twists and turns here including some reggae-rock. Gets more sedate and calm in the middle before rockin' out in a slow groove. A good introduction to the music of Giraffes? Giraffes! 3 stars.