Member Since: 4/5/2005
Band Website: firstofthegiants.co.uk
Band Members: Stephen Powell
(guitar and vocals)
Benjamin Stone
(bass guitar)
Michael O'Connor
(guitar and vocals)
Adam Cann
(drums)
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Influences: Blur, Supergrass, Jetplane Landing, Hell is for Heroes, Manic Street Preachers, S*M*A*S*H, Crashland, These Animal Men, Easyworld, The Junket, Longpigs, Editors, Interpol, Guided By Voices, Mega City Four, Joy Division, Dinosaur Jnr.....
Sounds Like: "You can get really behind the band and into the songs as Stephen Powell sings. You still get the impression that the band want to headline the world's stadiums but with songs like this they also want to gain some credibility beforehand."
Indie MP3
"Imagine Morrissey with Mick Ronson on guitar....'Johny Moronic' has all the trademarks of a bubblegum hate anthem"
Venue Magazine
"The sound is epic, reaching and ambitious. This isn't the sound of a band that wants to be playing local pubs in front of ten people on a Saturday night, this is a band that sounds dissappointed that they aren't being asked to open Wembley Stadium in a few months time."
The Beat Surrender
"With the charcoaled heart of interpol and the angular guitars of The Automatic - FOTG have found a killer recipe for emotionally engaging post-punk of the highest order! Impressive Stuff!"
Subba Cultcha
"An unabashed pop fix of ramshackle guitar jangle and sunny side up melodies, Obsessive Compulsive finds Bristol based four piece FIRSTOFTHEGIANTS striking a winning blow for lo-fi pop brilliance. A soundclash between Guided By Voices, Mega City Four and early Soul Asylum, with just a hint of the Proclaimers thrown in for good measure....A gloriously ramshackle combination of lo-fi charm and pop brilliance, Obsessive Compulsive is the sound of FIRSTOFTHEGIANTS making a massive statement of indie rock intent.
"
UK Music Review
"The stadium-sized ambition of this breakneck single belies a commendable DIY approach and an integrity sadly lacking from many mainstream indie anthem. Musically the melodies are hot on the heels of Hundred Reasons, while the riffs stand converse to converse with the best indie shoe gazers out there: all in all a fine mix of energy, passion and, yes, music that flew by and had me hitting repeat. Repeatedly…"
The Fly
"Taking the rapturous hooks of Joy Division and polishing them into a gem of a tune, FIRSTOFTHEGIANTS stride so many idea’s in such little time, you can’t help but be swept along by it all…"
Subba Cultcha
"....Listening to the three tracks that make up the single (with Who Needs Enemies? being the standout) you soon become aware that it is pretty majestic stuff. Imposing guitars that sound like crashing waves and gliding, soaring vocals imprint their images into the listeners conciousness. You can easily imagine this lot clad in long, dark raincoats standing on a beach with storms overhead circa 1983. Well recommended."
Indie MP3
"FIRSTOFTHEGIANTS carry a stately grace like a musical elder with some forceful guitar parts that both power the single 'Obsessive Compulsive' and chop it up into
definable segments. They use some slightly quirky key changes that make this edgy and modern sounding....A useful debut, to use a football parlance."
Tasty Fanzine
"While the opening title track (Obessive Compulsive) storms in on a crescendo before moving in unhurried fashion through interweaving guitar lines and extended breakdowns, the next - 'Who Needs Enemies' - is simply urgent blast-through-to-the-finish pop-rock, all big choruses, ebullience, and neat lyrics..."
Venue Magazine
"Obsessive Compulsive is the strongest song for my money. It reminds me of someone. I can't quite put my finger on who. Which is annoying. No, not the song, the fact that it reminds me of someone I can't recall. As for the song, imagine The Editors if they were halfway decent."
Lost Music
"...the sort of guitar-led rock music that will fit in very neatly with the XFM kind of music that’s around these days. Who Needs Enemies is more rocky and has an air of Teenage Kicks. It’s sill grounded in guitars but the chorus has a great rhythm to it, very fluid, like an undulating stream..."
Jukebox
Record Label: LittleThink
Type of Label: Indie