Insound Staff Pick - 2008! Formerly known as Canada's version of Battles, Giantess is a blistering exercise in profundity, veering wildly from accelerated rave-ups to introspective ballads that tug at the heart (often with tongue planted firmly in cheek). Giantess delivers with the poetic grandeur of Bryan Ferry or Graeme Downs at their absolute peak, and with the muscle & pathos of The Soft Boys or Jesus of Cool-era Nick Lowe. Giantess is first & foremost a relationship record that relies on sentiments both ridiculously absurd & vastly astute. A British influence looms large in Stephen Wood's brilliant songwriting- comparisons to Ray Davies & John Lennon are commonplace -in much the same way those pillars informed Robert Pollard's forays into songs. Likewise, Giantess' erstwhile approach thrusts the genre forward with liberal swaths of heart, wit, warmth, melody & raw power.