Forest Giants, UFO Stories

On their second EP, UFO Stories, Forest Giants lure you in with a simple and very narcotic musical recipe. Nothing is overdone, nothing is forced, and the end result sounds like they just put a microphone up in their living room and tried to write songs for the first time. The six songs contained here make you want to close your eyes and daydream about whatever makes you feel good. The sound is very bare-bones and has a kind of weird early ’90s feel, one that’ll remind you of bands that you haven’t thought of in years. Which makes sense, by the way, since the band is made up of musicians with some pretty serious cred to their names: bassist Ruth Cochrane played in the Blue Aeroplanes in their early days and later toured with the Mekons and drummer Tim Rippington and guitarist Tom Adams played in the Beatnik Filmstars, who toured with the Flaming Lips, Superchunk, and The Wedding Present.

“Beards” starts things off with a pleading melody and instantly draws you in. It’s not complicated and it doesn’t try too hard to impress, which gives it a little charm right away. The band immediately shifts gears on the second song, “Oh No,” which sounds like a lost, just-discovered Jesus and Mary Chain track. It’s my favorite cut on the EP and maintains the band’s compact, intriguing songwriting approach.

The third song, “Peculiar Feeling,” is a stark and stripped-down acoustic number that paints a beautiful picture by barely moving an inch. It’s the beginning of a slow but purposeful descent into the heart of the recording, which is the group’s tribute to Elliott Smith, who died while they were making this EP. While there are only a few songs on this effort, they clearly crafted each one to have a point, and I think the listener benefits from the concept. The recording eases down to a whisper on the last few songs, which are more like sculpted AM radio static than anything else. Transmissions from another planet, anyone? Whatever the music’s source, this is a solid offering from a band that couldn’t care less about what all the other bands from England are doing right now.