---Ada Wofford
Stationary Giant is a two-piece recording project out of Philadelphia. They just released their debut EP, Sincerely, Philly—a three song, 8-minute punch to the jaw. They’re a two piece but it’s not stripped down. Guitars are layered over bass and drums and the vocals well…the screaming almost always comes in the form of a group shout. Often times, the songs do a call-and-response thing with the shouting that really makes the tracks stand out and allows the band to get more mileage out of their minimal lyricism.
Drummer and lead vocalist, Chalie Robinson had this to say about the process of making the EP:
We recorded the whole thing at a rented room in Surreal Sound Studios. I did drums and vocals, while Tyler did the two guitars, bass, and some vocals as well. He records, mixes, and masters everything himself. We did one song per month—Two weeks to practice, one week for instrumental recording, and then the next week we would lay down the vocals. This was interesting, to me at least, because we would write the instrumental part, and then after that was recorded and mixed, come up with the melody and lyrics after listening to what we had.
It is an interesting way to write a song, particularly when it’s a blend of lo-fi, punk, and emo. The songs don’t sound labored over, which they shouldn’t, and that’s what’s so impressive about them. They sound raw and fresh, almost as if Stationary Giant made them up live and on the spot. And sure, like all bands of this genre you can point out their references (particularly with the Cap N Jazz OHHHHHS!) but Stationary Giant is more than the sum of its parts. Many of the guitar riffs have a psychedelic, almost ‘70s style influence to them, utilizing phaser and echo in a way you don’t typically hear in punk/emo stuff.
The third track, “World Champs, But You Still Can’t Make Rent” is the most ambitious of the EP. Two guitars and a bass trade licks and percussive chords back and forth in the verses before colliding in a wall of noise for the choruses. The arrangement is unique and ambitious for this genre of music and really pays off. And of course, I absolutely love the insane noise solo that takes place in the background during the end of the track.
Overall, this EP is 8-minutes of pure lo-fi power. Fans of lo-fi emo and punk need to hop on over to BandCamp and grab a copy right now. Or, stream it on Spotify.
A lot of times, when someone hears a lo-fi album they think the band had a 4-track and one mic. It’s not true though. A good lo-fi album takes just as much work as a good hi-fi album, sometimes even more! Curious about all the gear Stationary Giant used? Check it out:
Computer:
Mac Pro Tower
Studio One Professional (DAW)
Interfaces:
Clarett 8PreX
Clarett OctoPre
Outboard Recording Gear:
2X's - Two Note Torpedo
Sonic Maximizer
Sterling Audio Headphone Pre
Furman
Drums:
Bison NGU
Zyld Custom K Darks
Drum Mics:
3X's- Shure 98 Betas
Sure Beta 52
Earthworks OM1
Bass:
Fender P Bass
MXR M80 (direct)
Guitars:
Fender 69RI Tele
Fender Straight Six
Guitar Rigs (all sent direct with Torpedos):
Hughes and Kettner Puretone Head
Orange Tiny Terror Head
Fender Prosonic 2X10 Combo
Pedals:
Hughes and Ketter Tone Factor
TC Electronics Flashback
EHX Quasar
MXR Phase 90
MXR Super Co
Listen to the title track below:
Comments