A Giant Dog

Fight (Tic Tac Totally)

A Giant Dog’s full-length debut is informed by what came before, but not in thrall of it. While spiritual hints of early-Eighties American underground abound, the Austin quintet’s cut-and-paste artistry is here and now. The raucous, low-rent squall quakes with affirmative abandon, while a just-right dose of pop girds the buzz and yowl. As such, these 15 songs on vinyl resonate well beyond the group’s chosen genre lines. “QYJARA,” which stands for “Quit Your Job And Run Away,” makes for an appealing enough bumper sticker, but A Giant Dog turns the sentiment into a bona fide pocket epic. “Saturday” epitomizes being all buzzed up with nowhere to go, and “Too Metal” detours into ghoul rock before collapsing in a psychotronic breakdown. Throughout it all, frontwoman Sabrina Ellis is the fulcrum, diving and soaring vocally from belts to shrieks and back again. If this doesn’t kick you in the pants, you’re probably not wearing any.

***.5

This article appears in April 20 • 2012.

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Greg Beets was born in Lubbock on the day Richard Nixon was elected president. He has covered music for the Chronicle since 1992, writing about everyone from Roky Erickson to Yanni. Beets has also written for Billboard,Uncut, Blurt, Elmore, and Pop Culture Press. Before his digestive tract cried uncle, he co-published Hey! Hey! Buffet!, an award-winning fanzine about all-you-can-eat buffets.