If there was one band that epitomized the type of aesthetic that I myself as a teenager was emulating, that would without question have to be Kicking Giant. This duo consisting of Tae Won Yu on guitar and vocals and Rachel Carn on stand up drums created a tuneful racket that was shifted stylistically back and forth from feedback drenched art rock to cuddly AM jangle pop. How they brought the two together was actually rather remarkable as sonically they were able to explore different territory yet it still sounded like Kicking Giant. The band had a very staunch artistic yet not pretentious do it yourself vibe to their music, recordings, releases and just overall aesthetic of the band. Both Tae Won Yu and Carns were artists/graphic designers themselves and created a very strong visual statement with the artwork on their releases, show posters and in zines. Kicking Giant went hand and hand with the whole indie zine and tape trading culture of the 90s, which was essentially how I was introduced to them. They first broke onto the scene self releasing a handful of cassettes on their on Loose Leaf Records label (
Boyfriend Girlfriend, Secret Teenage Summer, and
Present) and through a tight network of tape traders, tape labels, zines and specifically the riot grrrl movement, word about Kicking Giant's raucous yet infectious music spread like wildfire. Eventually the cassettes, some comp tracks and some newer tunes were releases as indie rock excess style full length album on cd called
Halo. The band transplanted from New York City where the duo met while students at Cooper Union to Olympia, WA where they eventually hooked up with K Records to release this single as well as a full length called
Alien ID. Additionally whil in Olympia they contributed a few more obscure compilation tracks and a split tape with Long Hind Legs on the Punk In My Vitamins label, which was run by Vern Rumsey of Unwound.
Not much longer after the band eventually broke up with Carns becoming a member of The Need while Tae Won Yu focused on his graphic design career. Chances are if you go through your record collection you have at least one album with his artwork-especially if you are Built to Spill or Versus fan. However, it should be noted that Tae Won Yu did continue to record music under the name The KG. From what I understand their was a cassette release, some comp tracks and the lone release that I own by the project a cd called
Nature Morte, an
album that I would like to share at one point so I will refrain revealing too much but let's just say on the cd their is a nice surprise for Kicking Giant fans.
As far as this single
She's Real is concerned, it is most likely the band's trademark song though if you ask me I'd have to cast my vote for "Satellite". But anyhow
She's Real contains an alternate version of the title track then what appears on
Alien ID, and honestly I am kind of torn at times as to which version is better. Both are really solid for different reasons. Don't even ask me to compare the two versions to the wonderful cover Built to Spill and Caustic Resin do of the song... Also on the single is a song called "Funny Face" as well "Dubious", which the latter once again is a different version then what appeared on
Alien ID. Download and enjoy but I will strongly recommend that you pick up
Alien ID if you can as it is still available from K Records and it can be found on the cheap side on Amazon and similar outlets. The earlier non K releases are most likely next to impossible to locate so I will be sharing those in the near future.
Kicking Giant
She's Real track listing
1. She's Real (version)
2. Funny Face
3. Dubious (version)
Download here
