A Giant Dog's music is like a giant mastiff who barks, growls and tears everything apart with its teeth and ferocious energy. Through 14 songs, we get wild, uncompromising rock 'n' roll play. Pile is their third album. Despite omnipresence of hyperproduction and flood of new bands in digital era, Pile is not the average album. On the contrary, albums that seduce you after the first time you hear them and do not bore you even after 30 repeats are endemic specie. Maybe because Pile is essential rock 'n' roll, fusion of garage, glam and punk rock.
When it comes to this type of music, the most important thing is how much energy you put into it. The impression you get when you are listening to A Giant Dog is that they have put the last atom of their energy and every molecule of their candor into this album. More importantly, they sound like they really had fun making it. The album unfolds with curt intro, which gives you just enough time to take a deep breath before 14 wild songs. Creative duo Ellis and Cashen hit the target in every single track, both when it comes to arrangements and verses. Arrangements are enriched with piano and saxophone, while verse paint dark rock 'n' roll hedonism, sex, drugs, failed relationships and morbid fixation on death. Self-destruction and death are main themes throughout the album. In Creep, Ellis sings: I love you honey/tenderness, not for me/ I can watch you die, and not feel a thing. A Giant Dog have no desire to change the world. They just want to have as much fun as they can while they are alive. Beyond something that initially sounds like pure fun lies enormous talent, creativity and skillfulness. A Giant Dog wisely combine different genres, mostly through robust riffs. My favorite tracks are Sleep When Dead and Jizzney. Guitar arrangements of Cashen and Bauer are rich in details, and although Ellis' vocal is softened in production, you can hear how powerful it is. Rhythm section is cherry on top.
A Giant Dog are morbid and aggressive musicians who have fanatic approach to rock 'n' roll. Love it!
