by Naked Giants - Shine Away
3.8
Flyctory.com Pros
- Versatile, enjoyable album
- Nice rock music blending
Flyctory.com Cons
- Some weaker songs
The band Naked Giants celebrate their tenth band anniversary this year. What would be a better way to share the happiness than a new album? Shine Away is their third full release It has been released on 4th October 2024.
Naked Giants – About The Artists
Naked Giants is an indie-rock trio from Seattle in the United States. The three members are Grant Mullen (vocals, guitar), Gianni Aiello (bass, vocals) and Henry LaVallee (drums). Mullen and LaVallee already known since pre-school years. They started major releases with the EP R.I.P.. in 2016. Three years later, there was another EP, Green Fuzz. On the album side, there are two publications, SLUFF (2018) and The Shadow (2020).
Naked Giants – Shine Away – Track by Track
The nine track album lasts 33 minutes.
1. Apartment 3
The opener feels likely a nicely strumming rocker, before sudden breaks emphasize the indie character of the music of Naked Giants. The song feels rougher, more distorted, but thereby does not loose that much of a touch. It has a special, unique touch, which I definitely appreciate.
2. Missed Out
The second song on Shine Away is a previously unreleased one. Missed Out is catching with hard, hammering riffs, especially at the beginning of the track and around the chorus. The song itself has a rather melancholic style, which leads to certain contrast. There are some nice elements in it – but this one just cannot reach the same level as Apartment 3.
3. Bad Guys Win
The single release Bad Guys Win is one of two songs, which are shorter than three minutes. The song starts rather slow and clearly focuses on singer Grant Mullen, before the instrumentalists leave a more present statement in the brief chorus. The plot of this song feels a bit of sluggish, but it definitely also has a nice touch. Like in the song before, the US-Americans sprinkle some easy, almost childish elements, which leads to a smile in my face during the listen.
4. Half Full Cups
Half Full Cups opens a set of three new songs on the 2024 Naked Giants album. This fourth track of the record is having a stronger indie-touch again, but also reminds of the slow, melancholic style of the opener. I feel it is a good ft to the setup of the band and the voice of their frontman.
5. Dissolve
Disscolve, the song right in the middle of Shine Away, goes for a faster pace than most of the songs before. Together with the joyful melody, this leads to a very different energy than in the songs before. Despite its long duration of over five minutes, the song strikes with a good plot and interesting vibes.
6. Oh Michael
With less than three minutes, the following Oh Michael is one of the more compact songs of the album. Some guitar tunes remind me of surf rock. But finally, the indie-style distortion prevent me from looking for my sunbath clothing. This does definitely not mean that I don’t enjoy the listen.
7. Did I Just Die
The third Shine Away single already released is Did I Just Die. The song is rather on the experimental side and works with synth elements as well as present and rough rock sounds. This leads to another virtuous and interesting listen.
8. Case Of The Bastards
On the second last track of Shine Away, Case Of The Bastards, the Naked Giants take us on another rather longer musical trip. The band invests quite a lot of time into instrumental parts, and overall presents a rather versatile, interesting plot. A good listen.
9. Shine Away
The title track takes the honorable task closing the Shine Away album. The chucker-out presents gentle melodies which even have a slight folk-rock touch. Definitely another flavor in this set of tracks.
Naked Giants – Shine Away – Spotify
Here is the album on Spotify:
Naked Giants – Shine Away – My View
The West Coast trio Naked Giants show a wide range of songs for their tenth band anniversary. Not all songs really strike, but overall, it is a nice and enjoyable set of songs. Shine Away misses the top ratings, but is a solid listen.
Favorite Song: Dissolve
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