Abner Trio :: The Giant Crushes You :: Joyful Noise Recordings

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Abner Trio
The Giant Crushes You

Catalog Number: jnr42
Release Date: 08/24/10

Vinyl + MP3: $12

(black vinyl, RTI pressing)

Cassette + MP3: $8

(black tape)

MP3: $7

Track List:

You're Gorgeous, Believe It!
The City Is Where You Fail
Scurvy Killers
Crystal Palace
Let Go of The Dream
Collapse
Indomitable Willpower
The Colossus
Rainbowland
Wishbone Pull

With "The Giant Crushes You", Abner Trio have created an album that triangulates exactness, rawness and beauty. Nearly 3 years in the making, Abner Trio's second full length is hands-down the most accomplished documentation of their mathy, artsy, honest, and all-around original blend of indie-rock.

Boosted by a fearless, punch-you-in-the-face positivity that is both rare and refreshing, Abner Trio mash tumbling guitar lines, bewildering arrangements, and idiot-savant-spoken-word into songs that (amazingly) sound a lot like pop music. Beneath the weirdness, the music of Abner Trio contains an unwavering and highly developed pop-sensibility, brought to the forefront by their densely layered and meticulously arranged vocal melodies. Bothering very little with traditional song structures, Abner seems to allow the songs to move where they're supposed to, lilting and bursting along like a feel-good Sebadoh gorged on Joan of Arc.

Beginning in 2005, and releasing their first album "Distant Thunder of the Sacred Force" on Joyful Noise in 2006, Abner Trio has always been a band that thrives on the unique and organic interaction between band members. The intricately calculated yet gritty style of Clinton Hughey's guitar work combines with Daniel Paquette's stream of subconsciousness lyrics - which themselves seem to embrace a brave sense of humor (see: opening lines to "Scurvy Killers") while channeling madmen and Old Testament prophets. Behind it all sits the patiently powerful drumming of Karl Hofstetter, punching in explosive accents when necessary, and seeming to thrive on the re-assemblage of simple beats into his own occasionally confounding patterns.

This giant of a record may indeed crush you, but that's only because it's giving you a bear hug and doesn't know its own strength.

"Hard pop? Polished post-punk Pixies? No idea, but what I hear is Abner Trio from Indianapolis, IN, USA, and their second album, “The Giant Crushes You”, a set of 10 short tracks. Their debut arrived in 2005 and it seems like they’ve spend the time since then to go deep into song-writing. The music and the lyrics are carefully handled and within the strict frames of being a trio. The arrangements are bright as well. I do really like their background vocals especially and also the moments when they dramatically narrate the lyrics in a melancholy way instead of singing them, like in old western songs. They seem to have a handicraft attitude to their making of pop music. They are not as hard as Queens of the Stone Age, but aren’t they as good?"
Terrascope UK

"It’s hard to keep an album interesting from start to finish, but the Abner Trio does it well with their latest full-length, The Giant Crushes You. This new release is fresh, original and easy to listen to thanks to songwriting that makes a little bit of energy go a long way. The band, which hails from Indianapolis, IN brings a package of lively and contemplative alternative rock to the forefront with a well-paced arrangement of warm escapist tracks that at times sound like Unwed Sailor, like on the bass-driven "Collapse" with a splash of punk in "Let Go of the Dream." Group vocals and some spoken lyrics help to anchor songs like "The City is Where You Fail" that would otherwise run the risk of being overly surreal. Here, the theme of a cold past is not reflected by the upbeat instrumentals. It isn’t all sugar, but has the perfect balance of high and low emotions both musically and thematically, to keep the listener hooked in each transition. Even slower songs like "Indomitable Willpower" leave little time for boredom. And with the aptly named "Rainbowland" blending beautifully into the final "Wishbone Pull" you won't be satisfied without flipping over the vinyl to take it from the top again. "
Rochester Examiner

"This record is four years in the making, a length that can be attributed to the groups meticulous recording - a careful creativity that has paid off in a big way for the trio here."
Dust Sleeve

"The Giant Crushes You is three years in the making and lets songs just evolve and move from slightly spoken word pieces into full blown rock outs with hooks. It is this uncertainty for the listener that works for Abner Trio and why this record is a fun ride. Throw out what you know with Abner Trio's layered vocal melodies and lack of any consistent song structure because songs grind, take off, stir and then take off again. It is this unique formula that makes The Giant Crushes You a record that any indie rock lover will enjoy and should make Abner Trio your new band to tell all your friends about!"
The Fire Note

"Very unique... Soft Spoken vocals and harmonies, filled with lyrics that are often humorous and ironic. The arrangement of all the instruments work harmoniously together and just feels right. I'm a sucker for great simple drum beats that get complicated with their execution and technique but also really carry the songs together predominantly, and Abner Trio really does this well... It's really fucking great."
Musical Family Tree

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