Blue Giant

Blue Giant (Vanguard)

By Amanda Stovall
Published: July 16th, 2010 | 1:00pm

The sweep of Americana steel guitars and twangy vocals that have come out in recent years is a fitting contrast to the wave of synthetic electro that has fiercely vied for its position on the music charts. Portland’s folky, alt-country band Blue Giant should make Bob Dylan proud with their mix of guitar, harmony-driven sound, and lyrics embroidered with tinges of politics and heartbreak, singing about “the sadness of our lives” in songs like “The Void Above the Sky.”

The initial riffs of album opener “Clean the Clock” may confuse some listeners into thinking they’ve turned on City and Colour’s “Sometimes,” but the song quickly veers from the realm of solo guitars into a full-band ensemble. This is new territory for Blue Giant founders Kevin and Anita Robinson, who are also behind the indie rock duo Viva Voce. For Blue Giant, the Robinson’s created their own blue giant in a mixing of stars from across the music scene: Chris Funk of the Decemberists, Evan Railton of Swords, and Seth Lorinczi of the Golden Bears. Borrowing from American folk rock and bluesy country, the band utilizes slide guitar and driving harmonies to find their niche in the growing world of young country rockers.

The vocal harmony in the song “Blue Sunshine” harkens to traditional country music, paired with merciless steel guitar strumming and a drum cadence that actively works to force listeners to start moving their feet in a semblance of a two-step. The album takes a turn when Anita Robinson commands the lead vocals for “Lonely Girl,” a cut that features haunting echoes of her guitar as she sings “She’s making it up as she goes along / What could go wrong in the morning?” “Target Heart” features a drawn out pace and sadly comical yet clever lyrics in the vein of Hayes Carll, stating “You keep shooting at my target heart / I keep moving, but you’re just too smart.”

Other songs, like “The Game,” emphasize grinding guitar riffs and collaborated vocals that may be well-suited to fill a music venue, but leaves a hollow sensation on a studio record, falling short of the grandiose and rich dynamic the band is striving for. Still, at times during Blue Giant, the sound remains static, as though the Robinsons have not quite mastered how to fully implement the complete potential of a full band. They get close in songs like “Go On,” which climbs toward the elation of a symphonic explosion as the vocals harmonize with “Go on / Go on ‘til the feeling’s strong,” but the song itself needs to “go on” a little further to break past a seemingly unshakeable two dimensional sound.

Make no mistake—Blue Giant is a great debut. It just leaves the listener under the impression these seasoned musicians are new to playing off of their bandmates.

__