Giraffes? Giraffes!

Anyone who hold fascination with the intricately dizzying yet intellectually compelling compositions of Omar Rodriquez Lopez will find new a whole new cause for celebration in Giraffes? Giraffes! The band consists of Joseph Andreoli on guitar, and Kenneth Topham, who I will argue despite the groups anonymity to be one of the best damn percussionists in rock music today. This is math rock at its finest, where the only constant is that the time signature won't be. At times it feels as if these songs must have arose from glorious accidents, with each musician seemingly adrift within the piece despite the constant resolution. While many math rock bands step into the pitfall of being too smart however, GG shrug this off effortlessly with an endearing playfulness that invites you to get lost in their musical insanity. From their band name, to hilarious and epic song titles like "I 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", it's obvious how they feel about the overly pretentious.

The duo released their debut in '05 an extremely lo-fi affair that one would probably describe as "showing promise". Two years later 2007 brought us 'More Skin With Milk Mouth'. At 28 minutes it is a short, but extremely compelling listen. The energy never lets up, and the hooks and ideas just keep on firing. Check out the band site here, download links below, and check out the closer streaming.

"A Quick One While She's Away", 2007


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