History looks very kindly on GIANT HAYSTACKS. A decade in the past, literally every one of their recordings resonates, and I have spent entire days listening to their recordings in rotation and on repeat. The casual way Allan (AIRFIX KITS, NEUTRALS) turns D. Boon (or '78-'80 Robert Smith?) guitar discordance into Rough Trade jerky pop while the rhythm section takes a leisurely stroll through manic signatures and licks that will make careful listeners shed a tear, the band's approach is actual brilliance in action. Fast punk numbers like "After The Strike" are still dripping with earnest melancholy, while "Tools Of The Industry" are retooled (or just reimagined) sounds from the UK's anything-goes '80s, before "punks" realized either how to be musicians or what musicians were "supposed" to do. There's not a bad song in their arsenal, and This Is All There Is collects cuts from 45s and comps so I can listen to them all in a row....which I appreciate. There's more than this, of course, and you need to know every song on We Are Being Observed if you don't already, but at least I can hear "Wrong Shoes" and that DIAGRAM BROTHERS cover without having to change records now.
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