I have no idea what Thorn of Thrones means, and I seriously doubt even the band does, but Giant Brain really seems to be bringing a lot of cool new goofy things to the table, yet they're the same old good stuff at the end of the day.

Let me explain: Imagine Jeff Beck back in the day joining a kraut rock band instead of heading towards a more fusion oriented style. Dirty, distorted and tasty blues rock solos sprinkled on top of these electronic, synth-driven and psychedelic old school kraut rock gems. Think it sounds good? Wait till Jeff suddenly realises his friends Tony and Ritchie are doing this new thing called riffing and gets hip to some smashing fuzzed out, at times industrial sounding, big guitar rhythms.

This band of four has everyone doing a good deal of fucking around with an assortment of instruments, noises and samples to give shape to this baby. I mean, if the first few songs fit the earlier description perfectly, one guy pulls out his damn acoustic guitar for 'Asian Love Song What?' and another adds layers of eclectic string sounds to do something completely different. Empyrian too, takes an arpeggiated acoustic riff and adds a lot of psychedelic soul to it, and an upbeat vocal chorus over strummed chords, followed by another truly Jeff Beck moment during the solo, all resulting in a splendid vibe around the middle of this album.

Coming after a couple of softer songs, Gooser might take a while to build-up, but when it's on, it's the most driving and pure display of 70s anthemic riffs during the chorus, perfectly interspersed otherwise with the band's influences drawn from Can, Faust and the likes. This is the kind of throwback that you hardly get to hear - a cool blend of fuzzy hard rock, psychedelia and kraut rock. It's a bit unexpected coming from Small Stone, but after the initial surprise wears off and you let the album grow on you, you can really hear why this such a cool addition to this fantastic label. Well played.

Label: Small Stone

Year of Release: 2009