Naked Giants – SLUFF – CityArts
Dig deeper into Naked Giants’ sound with this playlist of the band’s influences, contemporaries, and various soundalikes via this custom Spotify playlist. Music above, brief playlist liner notes below.
1-4: “Twist,” “The Static God,” “Preaching the Blues,” and “Crazy Rhythms”
- Naked Giants play with a manic intensity much like Jon Dwyer’s prolific California outfit, Oh Sees, psychobilly pioneers, The Gun Club, and garage rock godfathers, The Feelies.
5-8: “TV,” “Three Girl Rumba,” “Marquee Moon,” and “Sober to Death”
- Before accelerating into garage rock land, “TV” sounds like an extension of Wire’s “Three Girl Rumba.”
- The coming, going, and returning of “TV” calls to mind Television’s classic saga, “Marquee Moon.”
- Naked Giants open for CSR and play in that band’s expanded, seven-person live lineup. Seattle guru Steve Fisk produced both CSR’s breakthrough album, Teens of Denial, and SLUFF. Both bands celebrate the absurd and relish unconventional song structures.
9-12: “SLUFF,” “Debaser,” “Buddy Holly,” and “Gee Golly”
- “Debaser,” and “SLUFF,” couple non-sensical, one-word choruses with dangerously catchy melodies.
- Steve Fisk’s production channels 90s alt-rock like Weezer.
- The chord progression of “SLUFF,” as well the song’s overall energy, closely matches “Gee Golly,” a song by underrated North Carolina garage rock trio The Tills.
13-16: “Ya Ya,” “Bellbottoms,” “Can’t Hold On,” and “Ozma”
- With wild performances and destructive rock’n’roll glee, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion make a compelling comparison point for Naked Giants. Jon Spencer worked with SLUFF producer Steve Fisk for Boss Hog and other JSBE records.
- Naked Giants channel the reckless energy of garage rock bands from the southeast, like Black Lips.
- Shannon & the Clams and Naked Giants both dip deep into 1960s pop for inspiration. See SLUFF‘s ballads.
17-20: “Everybody Thinks They Know (But No One Really Knows),” “Wipeout,” “King of the Beach,” and “I Love Seattle”
- Between its reverb soaked guitar lines and ambitious speeds, SLUFF is steeped in the surf rock, a style codified by bands like the Ventures in the 1960s (Bonus PNW music trivia: The Ventures are from Tacoma, WA.).
- California punks WAVVES and Seattle scene elders TacocaT updated surf rock for the 21st century. TacocaT helped generate buzz for Naked Giants after the two bands went to shows together at SXSW 2016.
21: “Twist & Shout”
- The Beatles are a major influence on Naked Giants’ joyous music. Naked Giants thank the Beatles in SLUFF‘s liner notes.
Top photo courtesy of New West Records / All others courtesy of Chloe Corriveau and New West Records