Giants of Science - HereIs The Punishment

Thu 28th Jul, 2005 in Music Reviews

For over half a decade now, Brisbane’s Giants of Science have been one of Australia’s most genuine independent rock n roll bands. Their debut EP Blueprint For Courageous Action established this fact and ever since, the sky has been the limit for the Brisbane quartet.

Since their inception, the band has played well over 100 shows in their home city and have toured with some of the biggest names in music today, such as Powderfinger, Radio Birdman and were hand-picked by Maynard James Keenan to tour with A Perfect Circle on their last Australian tour. It’s no surprise, though, as the band put on one of the best live rock and roll shows of any Australian band at present.

Of late, however, the Giants of Science have been very quiet. Ever since the excitement died down following their debut record of 2002, The History of Warfare, they have been relative recluses – holed up somewhere working on all manner of projects and emerging every now and then to play a coveted support slot. Some of those most coveted slots included The MC5, Rollins Band, Mudhoney, Mclusky, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion as well as a whole heap more.

So it is with a certain degree of anticipation that the Giants’ sophomore effort is unleashed, but at the same time the band will need to convince people to get back on their bandwagon as their popularity has died down somewhat after their unofficial hiatus.

It does not take too long to realise that the Giants have benefited massively from the break, as Here Is The Punishment, the title track from the record, shows a clearly matured sound. The riffs are still there, but there is a far better sense of melody, harmony and a general better standard of songwriting to previous efforts.

Zodak (Evil Cosmic Enforcer) packs a riff that grooves as hard as it rocks and features as good a smoky rock and roll solo as you’ll hear all year. If You Love The KT26ers has a verse that is certainly the band’s catchiest to date and Annabelle sees the band really step up their songwriting skills, fusing a handful of riffs together to arrange a song that is more complex than it sounds.

While the first third of the album is incredibly impressive, it is the second that really sets the Giants up for what could certainly be a big future. Sisters is a reworking of the Aretha Franklin classic song Sisters are Doin’ It For Themselves adapting the lyrics to say:

The song packs enough of a punch for it to be a sure success for the band. The acoustic interlude of Vote One brings down the mood as the lightly brushed drums, piano and fingerpicked guitar almost make the listener forget the last five songs. The slow moving Anchors Up has a sea shanty feel, but it is executed so tastefully that this could well be the Giants finest song yet. A wall of guitar noise provides a perfect backing for vocalist Ben Salter’s awesome melody and together they paint a captivating picture.

The production of the record is probably the only thing that let this sophomore effort down. A lot of the time the bass seems unnecessarily loud and at other times the instruments tend to run into each other, a common issue with more intricate arrangements in heavy music.

As the last refrain of the album’s closer Dead Sea comes to an abrupt halt, it becomes difficult to foresee the Giants of Science not having a ridiculously prosperous future.