Giant Drag - Hearts and Unicorns

 

Giant Drag was one of those bands I absolutely loved in middle and highschool, but no one else seemed to have heard of. 

At the time, Giant Drag only had one full length album (which I listened to religiously): Hearts and Unicorns.

Giant Drag is an indie grunge band formed in 2003 by singer/songwriter/front man (front woman?) Annie Hardy and drummer Micah Calabrese.  Giant Drag stands out from other bands in the genre due to Annie's vocals, and the band's unique dreamlike sound which takes inspiration from shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine (Check out my review of My Bloody Valentine - Loveless here!). Giant Drag is also known for their humorous song names such as "Kevin is Gay", "My Dick Sux", "High Friends in Places", and "YFLMD" (You Fuck Like My Dad).

The first song on the album is "Kevin is Gay". The title of this track has a funny story behind it; in Annie's own words, "Kevin is just a guy though, the song is nothing to do with him. But this guy, a friend of ours, hacked into our website, so it's a response to him. We posted up on there, 'Kevin, stop posting all this stupid crap on our website. Come and see us tomorrow when we'll be debuting our new song "Kevin is Gay"'. And the title just stuck." The song itself is about addiction. "Three sixty five, seven fifty, you're all I need" is a reference to the maximum single pill dose you can get of acetaminophen/paracetamol, and the fact that Annie has struggled with addiction to painkillers. The lyrics are a bit repetitive, but that isn't an issue due to the compelling vocal delivery and amazing instrumental that accompanies them. The song opens with Annie saying some gibberish and a sudden wall of soothing, dreamlike, shoegaze-esque sound. This wall of sound flows lazily around the melody, giving the song an unreal feeling, possibly meant to resemble the altered state that comes with being high on painkillers.

"Cordial Invitation" is one of the slower songs on the album. It features strummed acoustic guitar layered over shoegaze guitars and bold bass tones. This layering works to create a comforting, dreamlike melody. I'm not completely sure what this song is about, but the lyrics "Your dream is my nightmare/ Your dream is my new kiss" always stick out to me, and pair really well with the haunting melody.

"This Isn't It" is the most pop song on the album, and one of the catchiest. The song's lyrics are about a relationship without love. The song has a great melody, and the memorable chorus, "Love love love/ This isn't it/ Love love love/ You wouldn't know it/ If it hit you".

My favorite song on this album is "YFLMD" or "You Fuck Like My Dad". I love this song due to its intense driving melody. Also, depending on how literally you take the title, this song can be interpreted to have very dark lyrics. The song starts with an aggressive drum beat and melody. Suddenly, loud wining guitars kick in to create a strained, intense atmosphere and deliver the lyrics, "Father/ You're just like my father". The lyrics of this song are obviously comparing the narrator's lover to her father, but these similarities seem to bring up bad memories. Notably, the song's title, along with the lines "Okay, I made a mistake/ and if we kiss here/ My word dear", "Oh hell/ You fit me so well", and "You and your gun" suggest a conflicted relationship that, despite their love, keeps bringing up memories of abuse at the hands of her father. The first two lines suggest that the narrator regrets this relationship, despite it actually being really good. "You and your gun" could be referencing how both her father and lover have guns, and also be a metaphor for shows of force or intimidation by her father. However, that is just a theory. A Music Theory. 

*cough*

Alternatively, that line could just be about how both her father and boyfriend like hunting and the title is irrelevant.

Anyway...

Towards the end of the album, there is a cover of the chart topping song, "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that for a long time I thought this was the original version of the song, however, I still think this version is better than the original.

There are many more great songs on this album, but these five are the ones that really jump out to me when I think about this album. Hearts and Unicorns is a great grunge album full of awkward love songs and drug abuse. If you are a fan of grunge or indie rock, this is a must listen.

Rating: 8/10

Favorite Tracks: All

Listen to Giant Drag - Hearts and Unicorns on Spotify