Giddy Motors - Magmanic

Giddy Motors
Magmanic

Taken from their recent FatCat LP ‘Make It Pop’ (recorded with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio studios in Chicago), ‘Magmanic’ is a succint blast of deranged vitriol that serves as a neat summary of where Giddy Motors are at. Errant and chaotic, but ultimately focused, ‘Magmanic’s jagged chord patterns and are held down by a reflexive, acrobatic rhythm section.

Comprising Gaverick de Vis (guitar/vocals), Manu Ros (drums), and Justin Stone (bass), Giddy Motors originally set out to combine the jazz influence of Miles Davis with heavy, Jesus Lizard/Sabbath style US punk, but they deliver it with a fresh slant. More intense, energetic and strangely anglicised than most of their would be contemporaries entrenched in the so called new rock and roll, Giddy Motors songs are explosive and prone to suddenly flip back on themselves or fly off at unexpected angles.

‘Magmanic’ is backed with two new recordings, a brutal but deftly arranged take on ‘Eisbar’, originally recorded by German speaking Swiss new wave/punk outfit Grauzone, alongside an alternate version of ‘Bottle Opener’, re-titled ‘Tight Sauce’. Radically different to the version found on their recent LP, it’s presented here in a faster, more urgent, ragged and metallic form. The final track here, a brief, bontempi driven rendition of the traditional German folk song ‘Hanschen Klein’, is unmentioned, or hidden away - a fitting, cryptic full stop to the EP, characteristic of Giddy Motors idiosyncratic take on rock.

A visceral, impacting live outfit, Giddy Motors recently played a clutch of dates around the UK and Ireland, and are due to play further live shows with Part Chimp (on Mogwai’s Rock Action label) in the new year. They will support the single with a European tour in Spring 2003, before touring the US.

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