Naked Giants
Shine Away
Devil Duck Record
Maturity is such an ugly word. Now in their late 20s after starting out in 2014 as brash, carefree 18-year-olds caught up in their own psychedelic, garage-rock giddiness, Naked Giants come of age on the cathartic Shine Away, wrestling with the trappings and travails of adulthood and wondering how they got here in a fistful of galvanizing power-pop epiphanies. It’s not all fun and games anymore, but Naked Giants aren’t letting grown-up tradeoffs get them down.
Their third full-length, Shine Away finds Naked Giants leaving behind every single childish thing, except an unwavering belief in punk-rock liberation. Very little cynicism creeps in, despite all the tough transitions and accompanying bewilderment and heartache, as they live in hope with Jeff Rosenstock. Brushing bashed-out, melodic surges such as slow-building coping mechanisms “Half Full Cups,” “Did I Just Die,” and “Missed Out,” as well as a world-weary, bittersweet title track, with sweeps of affecting melancholy, they pull out the big hooks for a catchy “Apartment 3” and adopt Everclear’s swaggering drawl and righteous bombast for a world-weary “Bad Guys Win.” They like being underdogs.
Don’t bet against them, though, as they make quite a swirling racket in a defiant “Case of the Bastards,” crackling distortion adding more textured crunch to their already visceral guitars. And occasional episodes of trippy reverie and buoyant blips are welcome respites from all the exquisite clangor and blustery blowouts, their uplifting free-for-alls and scream-along choruses sure to bring refugees of Beach Slang or Titus Andronicus fandom into their camp.
