Album Review: Giant Wow – Hey Girl EP

Feb 22, 2010 by David Couch

Album: Hey Girl EP

Release Date: November 2009

When I was given the press release I groaned quietly inside, I’ve seen too many of these things to take them seriously, and fighting the impulse to throw my laptop out the window… I pressed play instead. Thank goodness.

From Cincinnati, Ohio, Giant Wow play an impressive strand of alternative power pop, I thought of The Wannadies at first listen. This combination of powerful male vocals uses more than what you usually hear: it’s not un-educated screaming and shouting. This EP, Hey Girl is five tracks long, a pretty standard amount for an EP, which is probably the only thing on the record that is. They’ve been working in the studio with Erwin Musper who’s work includes a few artists you may or may not have heard of…David Bowie, Def Leppard, etc… to name a few.

Giant Wow have a pretty balanced sound and they don’t fill the bars with unnecessary lyrics. The guitarists create some pretty interesting riffs to keep the listener entertained when the singing takes a break. “Wicked Girl” is probably the best song to get to grips with these guys highlighting all the catchy little details they work into the songs, this time to a heavier background.

It’s hard to see from looking at them where the effeminate edge comes from. Let’s not get it twisted – there is nothing girly about this music or any such nonsense, but if you believe like I do that music is an entity that can exist outside the stereo then it is not a far push to state that this said “entity” has a gender… still with me? The music has all the integrity of a strong rock outfit while keeping it fun and not taking itself too seriously.

A sound EP (excuse the pun) having a trademark quality and a solid foundation. 3 singles and 1 EP already available on iTunes and Amazon there’s more than one place to get your hands on a copy, so instead of sounding like a bad chat-up line (and yes, I have used it) Giant Wow’s Hey Girl EP is definitely a winner.

~D.C.~