The Giggitys-Songs In the Key Of Awesome

Loserheart Records
2014

For as far-back as anyone can recall (we're talking about the swinging-seventies at the very least kids) Cleveland and Akron have been involved in a ménage à trois with punk rock. As a matter of fact my home-state the of Ohio as a whole can lay claim to such legendary artists as Devo, The Dead Boys, The Cramps, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, Rocket From The Tombs, Pere Ubu and electric eels. And that's just to touch upon a  few of the more recognized names to come riff rocking out of our ever-expanding scene! If you really want to see how deep down Ohio's punk rock roots go you should over to the following link (http://www.clepunk.com/bands.htm), but that's after we get done talking about punk rock's new darlings The Giggitys! Formed out of the blood and guts of legendary Akron, Ohio punk band The Nimrods, with Ric Nimrod himself handling vocals and guitars(!), this cleverly-titled band takes it's name from Family Guy character Glenn Quagmire's catch-phrase while their sound is old-school punk rock 101! Prior to this fun full-length album the band released a demo version of the pop-punk instant classic "Balls Deep In Love With You", but it's actually the Ramones-tinged "Not With You (Winter Moon)" that gleefully opens The Giggitys debut offering! But it's not just The Ramones that The Giggitys pay homage to on this ten-track album. Everyone from All to Zero Boys gets a subtle shout-out with "Songs In The Key Of Awesome" carrying on much of the same joyous racket as these top-tier punk bands once did! Fuzzed-out craziness is on full display with "Goodbye Cruel Girl" as is classic, mid-eighties melodic punk while "15 minutes" is the uglier side of yesteryear's crusty punk scene! Through-out the album the band effectively utilities background chants as easily as buzz-saw guitars with "Talk To The Hand" finding that sweet common ground between The Ramones and Sloppy Seconds! "Don't Think" is gnarly L.A. punk while "Take Control" has New York City written all over it! Craving punk that's a little snotty? How about taking "She's Gone" for a ride? This short and sweet number channels The Misfits just as easier as a few other songs here on "Songs In the Key Of Awesome" echo the likes of 7 Seconds and Fear! And speaking of snotty numbers do you remember that pop-punk instant classic "Balls Deep In Love With You" we were just chatting about? Yeah? Well here it is in it's glorious LP version and it's a total kick in the ass my friends! "Balls Deep In Love With You" (along with "Not With You (Winter Moon)" and this album's rabble-rousser closing number!) have all the hallmarks of classic scene of old all but transforming The Giggitys into tomorrows newest punk rock hero squad! What's more we find The Giggitys taking on the failed promises of yesterday as "Total D" is actually where a lot of us wish a certain "Dookie" band would have gone next (here's a hint, it's got grit and integrity unlike the modern day spank fest that is Green Day!). All of which brings us to this album's real deal of a closer and my new favorite love song, "It's Not Me, It's You". I can think of a few "special" ladies from my past who could benefit from this song's timeless message, but that's another story for another night friends! With it's splendid mixture of all things classic punk and modern day pop punk "Songs In the Key Of Awesome" is as good as it gets kids! Hear it right here ladies and gents: http://thegiggitys.bandcamp.com/album/songs-in-the-key-of-awesome