Giant Dwarf is a heavy stoner rock band from Perth, Australia, and has been active since about 2018. The band seems to have gotten quite a bit of attention from different music websites such as RealGoneRocks.com and XpressMag.com.au. To date, the band has released one album, their self-titled debut from 2019, which is what I’ll be listening to tonight. The album is tagged under rock, doom, fuzz, heavy psych, progressive, and stoner rock, which is a style that I’ve been enjoying more and more lately. I’m pretty stoked to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Golden Walrus” starts out with some super fuzzed guitar work that immediately catches my ear. Oh wow, a big-sounding fuzzed-out bass joins the foray alongside a deep, strong stoner rock beat. Holy smokes, the instrumentation seemingly mellows out slightly as the vocals enter the vocals enter the soundscape. Holy smokes, the vocals really have a sound that reminds me of harder psych rock bands from the late 1960s and psychedelic prog rock bands from the early 1970s. Wow, I’m really digging this track. Holy smokes, the track enters a new movement marked by melodious background tones that seem to send the track into nearly spacey territory. Holy smokes, the tremolo guitar sort of reminds me of the dark, strange guitar work in The Doors’ first two albums. Holy smokes, I really dig the distorted synth effects in this track. Oh wow, the track breaks back through to a big-sounding stoner rock movement reminiscent of earlier in the song, with some super groovy lead guitar lines this time around. Wow, great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
Oh wow, “Black Thumb” gets grooving with some almost sinister, heavy, dark-sounding lines from a fuzzed guitar alongside a deep beat that reminds me somewhat of Black Sabbath. The vocals have a sort of deep droning kind of sound for the verses, almost verging on a Gregorian chant-like style that I really dig. Holy smokes, the track seems to get bigger, deeper, and heavier as the soundscape breaks through to a bridge-like section with the guitar chords and the beat becoming more spacious and heavier. Wow, great tune.
Oh wow, “Disco Void” gets into a fuzzed-out whirl between the progressive stoner rock-sounding beat and the fuzzed out electric and bass guitars. Oh wow, I’m really digging this track so far. Holy smokes, the song moves to a super groovy classic rock-sounding section with some super sweet guitar lines that I’m really digging. Oh wow, the synth comes in and seems to move the track into a sort of spacey heavy psych stoner rock territory. The rhythm guitar work has a really melodious sound that complements the spacey synth flavors really nicely. Wow, great track.
“Kepler” gets started with an upbeat fuzzed-out feel from the guitars and the drums that I’m really digging. Oh wow, the vocals (as well as the fuzzed-out guitars) in this track remind me a lot of a White Zombie song that I can’t quite remember the name of at the moment. Holy smokes, the track moves into a sort of spacey experimental section with what sound to be seagulls and what sounds to be the tide of a space ocean, which remind me a lot of both Gong and Hawkwind. Oh wow, the track seems to continually become more melodious as the soundscape seems to shift towards a new movement and away from the spacier section. Wow, great track.
“Repeat After Defeat” starts out with a sort of deep, dark, almost industrial rock sound reminiscent of groups like Nine Inch Nails or even Current 93. Holy smokes, the track seems to get deeper and deeper as the drums and fuzzed-out guitar work moves the soundscape along. The vocals and another guitar almost take on a sort of mystifying raga-meets-White Zombie sound that I’m really digging as the track builds up to the chorus. Holy smokes, the raga-esque line from the guitar seems to become the focus as the only other instrument is the deep beat for a moment. Oh wow, the soundscape continually builds up into a heavy, melodious doom metal movement until resolving back the sweet heavy psych sounds of the chorus. Wow, great track.
“Strange Wool” gets started with a deep, mellow, slightly fuzzed (bass?) guitar line that could be from a song by Cream or another similar psychedelic blues rock band from the latter 1960s. Oh wow, the lead guitar comes in with some mystifying lines that seem to make the soundscape increasingly dark. Super sweet track.
“High Tide Blues” gets started with a medley of heavy, fuzzed-out guitars, and a super deep beat. I really dig the sound of the kick drum in both this song, and throughout the entire album too. Oh wow, the grooves from the band seem to continually get darker and spacier as the track continues. Holy smokes, the track changes up with what sounds to be a classic early metal/hard rock guitar lick with a syncopated beat, which seemingly sends the song into a new movement. Holy smokes, I really dig the vocal lines at the end of the song. Great track.
“The Deluge” gets started with some fuzzy bass guitar that seems to gradually meander about and repeat a line, and then the rest of the instrumentation joins in with a heavy beat and fuzzed-out sounds from the guitars. Holy smokes, I really dig the mellow, laid-back vocals in this track thus far; the melody of the vocals feels vaguely familiar, but I’m not quite sure where I might have heard it before. Oh wow, the spacey distorted synth comes in for a moment and seems to take the song further into psychedelic territory. I really dig the way the vocals and the guitars seem to harmonize a bit during the more melodious section. Holy smokes, I really dig the bass line in this big, spacious, heavy section. Oh wow, the soundscape launches into a really interesting psychedelic punk rock-like movement that sort of reminds me of The Stooges mixed with some modern psychedelic garage rock sounds and effects from groups like Frankie and the Witch Fingers. Oh wow, the group gets into a super spacey jam that I’m really digging. Holy smokes, the track mellows out to just a guitar line for a moment before launching back into the really sweet, melodious movement from earlier in the track. Oh wow, the track almost sounds like it’s about to fade out, and then the band launches back into the sort of spacey psychedelic movement from earlier in the track to finish off the song. Wow, great track, and a great way to finish the album.
Holy smokes, I’m glad that I checked out this album tonight. The group moved a number of fuzzed-out sounds and styles throughout the album, which at times harkened back to heavier psychedelic rock bands from the late 1960s and even early hard rock and heavy metal bands from the 1970s, while also incorporating a sort of spacey experimentalism at times that you might hear from late 1960s and 1970s groups like Gong or Hawkwind. Even still, the band also moved between modern genres like stoner rock and doom metal throughout the album as well. If you’re into heavy psych and/or spacey stoner rock, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, then I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A