Debut album from purveyors of Heavy Progressive alternative sounds, Giant Walker.

Release Date: 13th May 2022

Label: Independent

Format: digital

“Go West young man!” – the cry of those brave pioneers in the American Gold Rush of the mid-Nineteenth century. Ther’s gold in them thar hills. It’s also a key line in Genesis’ Deep In The Motherlode – a song about the said event. Where are we going with this? Well, Giant Walker went (or even returned to their roots) South. Just like Dick Whittington, to see if the London streets were paved with gold or at least the rewards from their musical endeavours.

You can’t say the band has been idle of late. A series of singles has kept the profile high and well and truly whetted the appetite for an album that boasts nine tracks that fly the flag for that ‘heavy progressive’ tag. Two of those singles, The Fact In Fiction and Katoomba, see the album throw down the gauntlet in what may be familiar fashion – the bounce and angularity in the riffs and rhythms and vocalist Steff promising not to lose her head. It’s a hard and menacing opening gambit that carries out the threat promised by their Soundgarden, Karnivool and Deftones influences.

The brief dreamy sections that first occur in Katoomba are revisited in the manic and ominous Podha as the rhythms continue to spring and bounce amidst some primal screams. That same dreamy ambience gets a further polish in Inertia that’s perhaps the most accessible number of the album – your gateway to Giant Walker perhaps before Optophobia redresses the balance. The distinctive bounce that takes an exaggerated turn is fast becoming the signature, the ‘I can name that band in five notes’ trademark and the spoken word insert increases a sense of paranoia that comes from the increasingly desperate vocal.

Past The Peak has already given notice that Giant Walker aren’t a one-trick pony. A huge Post Rock style piece that eases its way in on a bed of dreamy reverb before reaching the same heights but with none of their more familiar aggression. Call it restained aggression if you will. Until the final minute where they can’t resist the chance to let loose with a final pummelling.

It’s a final pummeling that’s reinforced, the message hammered home, with the stop start fire of All We Have Is Gone replete with melodic overtones and a reminder that Giant Walker has a softer side on Coda. The latter confirms the melodic and atmospheric credentials of the band with an extended playout period to come down from the great adventure provided by All In Good Time.

Here’s one of the singles from the album – Past The Peak:

Giant Walker online: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Youtube / Bandcamp

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