Holy Rolling Empire - Gigantis

By Kate Xian

The debut album of Tucson, Arizona natives, Holy Rolling Empire, break out onto the music scene with Gigantis. Forming in 2007, Holy Rolling Empire make their mark with a ten song album that is a nice surprise from the usual rock muck released today. Gigantis is far from pretentious with a smooth classic and old school rock vibe. And their cited influences is a true testament to their sound – The Flaming Lips and The Doors.

The style of Holy Rolling Empire is difficult to describe if one were to use a modern day rock band as a basis for comparison. And the lack of comparison is what makes them great. The sound of Holy Rolling Empire is both unique and familiar, the kind of sound that you listen to on your classic rock radio stations while you cruise down a long stretch of quiet road at sunset. The vocals of lead singer Orin Shochat blend beautifully with the fun and detail-conscious instrumentals. Though the vocals aren’t about fall-off-your chair range, or emotional journeys, they’re strong and the perfect compliment to the upbeat guitar riffs and catchy beats.

Gigantis opens with one of the highlights - If You Can’t Beat It, Fuck It, an upbeat classic rock tune. Though the title is crass, the track itself is far from it. I expected a hard punk, screaming type of racket but was pleasantly surprised. Fuck It is followed by what I call the power ballad of the album, Robot Command, another one of our favourites. Its minimalist with rolling melodies, soft vocals and just a hint of a cool space age tone.

Aside from the cheeky song titles, like Bipolar Bear Mania and Mostly Bananas, the tunes itself are also highly enjoyable, This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things being another one of our favourites.

With winter slowly melting away, we recommend picking up Gigantis for an upcoming road trip or relaxing summer bbq. But don’t expect to do any headbanging.

Release Date: March 3, 2009