A few times a week, Gothamist publishes music reviews by our contributor Jeff Baum. The opinions below belong entirely to the author.
Giant Drag is a twisted little band. From the album, you may not know any better. They share a familiar sound with other recent LA bands such as Autolux or Silversun Pickups. It's a sort of a quasi-shoegaze space pop, but not too far out there, if you know what I mean. Perhaps it's not the most original sound, but they manage to pull it off. Annie does the guitar and vocals, Micah plays drums and synthesizer. Surprisingly, it's just the two of them.
So, of course, there’s a catch. You see, Annie is really pretty. Not super smoking rockstar hot or anything, but just pretty. The proverbial girl next door. Very cute and nicely dressed. But she talks like a 6 year old. A strung out 6 year old. She has a little baby voice and speaks in run on sentences about vanilla ice cream, cupcakes and Micah’s 'pee-pee'. After going on for a minute or so, she introduces the first song, "You Fuck like My Dad." Even if you knew it was coming, you can't help but be a bit taken back.
The two of them really impress once the music starts. Annie's bizarre personality, (perfectly complemented by Micah’s complete non-reaction to her shenanigans) takes a back seat to the music. Her voice seems to straighten out a bit once she starts singing, leaving the baby banter for in-between songs only. Micah remarkably manages to drum with one hand and play the keys with the other without either sounding neglected. They played through a good chunk of the album, mixed in a few new songs and a killer cover of Chris Isaac's 'Wicked Game' (Which Annie claims to have written for a boyfriend when she was 8 before he stole it and made it a hit.)
Not that I don't mind a little character on stage, but the music was certainly good enough to stand on it's own. While it's a bit creepy, Annie has the crowd hanging on every single word she says. It's a bit disorienting to hear her tear into a noisy guitar jam after babbling about guitars that shoot doughnuts, but it works really well. I'd strongly recommend checking these guys out next time they're in town.
