Brooklyn alternative rock darlings The Giraffes are back and they ceremoniously make their entrance after a short hiatus by unveiling a new single ‘The Shot’ is a mesmerizing blend of indie rock, psychedelia and surf-inspired hard rock that oscillates between dark intensity and bright euphoria. The single also superbly foreshadows their upcoming eighth album ‘Cigarette’, which will see the light of day in autumn – on September 27th to be exact.
While they draw inspiration from a whole variety of artists, including Black Sabbath, Queens of the Stone Age, David Bowie, and Ennio Morricone, their sound is actually more akin to such bands as Jesus Lizard, Iggy Pop, Eagles of Death Metal, Fugazi and Kyuss. For this single, they offer up what the band calls “a score for our current age of decay and disappointment, fear and fury, idiocy and hope”.
While eccentric, The Giraffes’ music is undeniably captivating. There’s a certain charm to their music. with instrumentation and vocals that are absolutely assured and insanely fucking groovy. Offering a very cool melody and time-shifting and dramatism that builds in intensity, ‘The Shot’ is a superb and infectious single and certainly leaves an impression that will leave you wanting more. This song also has some special surprises built in – from Burt Bacharach and YES-laced interludes to eastern-inspired surf beat-ins. Visually, this song evokes a whole series of images ranging from espionage and psychotropic-loving festivals and wilder personal adventures.
Formed in 1996, they’ve been crafting a hedonistic soundtrack that is loud, agile, dangerous, funny, sick, complex and satisfying. With lead singer Aaron Lazarand guitar maestro Damien Paris as its core, drummer Andrew Totolos provides the locomotive rhythm section with Hannah Moorhead anchoring the bass. This year marks the beginning of a new era for the band, with Moorhead now also contributing backing vocals and songwriting. With the line-up no longer in flux, the focus is now largely on songwriting.
The result is ‘Cigarette’, an album full of surprises, taking new risks with subject matter and composition, while maintaining the intensity and dexterity fans know and love. Recorded & engineered by Andrew Totolos at Apesauce Studio, this album was mixed by Grammy nominated producer Francisco Botero(Matisyahu, Odesza) at the legendary Studio G Brooklyn and by James Dellatacoma (Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock, TS Monk, John Zorn, Angelique Kidjo) at Bill Laswell‘s famed Orange Music Sound Studio.
“‘The Shot’ is a song about Gen x (my generation), which has always chronically undersold itself. We have limited desires and, as a result, we tend to see limited returns. We were raised by these selfish boomers and we really don’t want to become like that but, at the same time, the rules we must live by still happen to be boomer rules,” says Aaron Lazar.
“Consequently, we (or honestly I) fall into the trap of pulling back and looking at the larger picture. The bigger story of degradation and cope that leads us to envisioning a paradise on the other side of this disappointment of an existence. This is a song about millennialism I suppose, where we are doomed to fail, but forced to race nonetheless.”
Four years since cutting their teeth on the NYC underground scene and two years since releasing their 1998 debut album ‘Franksquilt’, The Giraffes finally found its true form as a band in 2000 when joined by vocalist Aaron Lazar. Upon releasing ‘Helping You Help Yourself’, their first album with Lazar in 2002, the band would stake its claim as the most unbridled and fun-loving Brooklyn live act. Indeed, with fierce musicality and peak audience participation, The Giraffes earned themselves a dedicated fan base.
From 2002, the band toured nationally and released four studio albums in succession, signing with various labels along the way. Their spaghetti western EP ‘A Gentleman Never Tells’ (2003) was followed by ‘The Giraffes’ album (2005), the ‘Pretty In Puke’ EP and the ‘Prime Motivator’ album (2008). Their epic 2010 concept album ‘Ruled’ proved to be Lazar’s swan song before leaving the band in 2011. While his departure seemed to mark the end of an era, the embers of their explosive sound would later reignite, proving that this was not the band’s final act.
2014 brought sold-out reunion concerts with Lazar back at the helm, reuniting fans from far and wide. Bolstered by their support, the Giraffes began developing new material, resulting in their sixth album ‘Usury’, released to critical acclaim in 2015. Finally, 2019 brought a new lineup with the addition of bassist Hannah Moorhead (Netherlands, Twenty Two’s) and new impetus with the release of the ‘Flower of the Cosmos’album and remixes by Swervedriver’s Adam Franklin and notable hip-hop record producer Blockhead.
Over the years, The Giraffes have toured with Eagles of Death Metal, Local-H, The Vacation and Skeleton Key, and shared the stage with Interpol, Fishbone, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and The Strokes. They’ve played SXSW, Bonnaroo, Amsterjam, Voodofest, Monolith, Northside and CMJ Festivals, and landed sync licensing placements in the ‘Guitar Hero’ video game, Sundance Festival winning film ‘I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore’, and the forthcoming ‘Toxic Avenger’ remake.
As of July 30, ‘The Shot’ will be available everywhere, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The ‘Cigarette’ album, which is out on September 27 is now available for pre-order via Bandcamp.
ALBUM CREDITS
Music written by The Giraffes
Lyrics & vocals by Aaron Lazar
Damien Paris – guitar
Hannah Moorhead – bass
Andrew Totolos – drums & percussion
Aaron Lazar – vocals
Recorded & engineered by Andrew Totolos at Apesauce
Mixed by Francisco Botero at Studio G
Tracks 4 & 5 mixed by James Dellatacoma
Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6 & 7 mixed by Francisco Botero
Mastered by Matt Labozza
Cover artwork by Aaron Lazar
Artist photos by Ebru Yildiz
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
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