CD Review: TimeGiant 'Grow'

TimeGiant: Grow (2011)

Craig McKenzie

TimeGiant, Grow

Grow like a giant sprout .. or ( little sunshine/summer groove, how do we know the slacker generation)

We grow like a weed and die like one too. From the opening riff of TimeGiant‘s Grow, we fall into a hippy ice cream parfait of technical deserts. The band rocks, in that they move and lift a wrestling crowd off their feet. They move, in a way that creates anxious Tragically Hip fans to slow the puff-puff-pass, and see,  what is music. The music that Canadians work themselves to strive to .. a blue-collar, pub-esque genre, only created in Southern Ontario.

TimeGiant, formerly Time, are a Windsor-born, Toronto-based band that exemplify what (and where), Windsor music is moving. In an ‘indie’ fashion, we see what talented musicians can pull off when having a good time, and hoping to move forward. With Windsor being a new stomping ground for the ”indie” scene, a band like TimeGiant are showecasing their territory like the father of the city brood. A stronghold is the cohesive sound they play with.

“Zenith” opens the album with a strong guitar riff, a reminisce of those ’80s guitars (featuring guest work by Mikey Heppner, from Montreal’s rock heroes Priestess).. bang it, bang it! It leads into a stellar vocal performance by Tyrone Buccione who wails like a fighting viking in his promised battle. It can easily bring upon a vibe of slackerism via the movie Almost Famous. “Buyer’s Remorse” follows and it make us realize the band can have fun with the talent of those jam bands that could go wild on our ears with 6 minute guitar solos. Tyrone Buccione showcases his skills and proves he can do both.

The acoustics from “Let it Grow” in to “Temple in the Sky” prove that Time Giant are ready to enlarge. The lyrics give us a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ approach of what we are headed for: they are going for the sunshine of California. Songs groove into song, something Windsor bands are hard on.

When the track “After the Battle at Mt. Megiddo” hits your ears, you realize that are we entering a beast-play of the band. The 7:30 minute track treats us to a phenomenal spectre of what a local band can perform. A progressive, sexy piece of art that can speak to Springsteen and Seger. Love it and move on.

The last track teaches us and, well themselves, that art can never be taken too seriously. Are 7:30 minute songs real? Are people like Daniel Victor the future of Windsor sound? Is money gonna show Windsor another Hamilton coastline of shit? I don’t believe it. The last song, “Lobotomy”, plays as a loose-fitting track after a ‘magnum opus’. But, yes, it moves in a serious way that shows Windsor can produce artists that not only bleed talent but breed skill.