Ganglians - Monster Head Room

About two weeks ago, I posted about Ganglians and my growing intrigue after hearing one of their songs, "Valiant Brave" from their debut LP, Monster Head Room. I have now had the opportunity to listen to the entire album several times (8 and counting). As you can see on my sidebar "Du's Top 25 of 2009", Ganglians' Monster Head Room has risen to the top. This album is full of some fantastic harmonies and this is the foremost reason for its climb up my list. I am a really big sucker for the Beach Boys-like harmonies that have been popularized by some indie artists (Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, etc.). In fact, for this reason, Panda Bear's 2007 album, Person Pitch, was my number one album of that year. Yet Ganglians' album is in a different vein than these quite popular indie bands. Monster Head Room combines these rich harmonies with a lo-fi pyschedelia approach resulting in a a unique albeit gorgeous album. An album that reveals itself to you with continued listens, Ganglians' Monster Head Room is an album that should not be ignored. I don't see it moving off its perch at #1 on my 2009 list.

Here are two more of my favorite songs from Monster Head Room.

Ganglians - Lost Words

Ganglians - Cryin' Smoke