Giraffe

Topline, Giraffe is a packed roster of RSTB site regulars come together to inject a slippery strain of funk into jazz, psych, and jam. Led by Dave Harrington (Darkside, ex-Tapers Choice), the band is rounded out with Robert Walter (The Greyboy Allstars), Spencer Zahn (Dawn Richards, Chris Forsyth), and Kosta Galanopoulos (Rio Kosta). The band came together for a one-off show at revered LA institution Gold Diggers and that turned into a day at the studio and a debut that showcases the assembled players’ keen instincts and improvisational acumen. The band jumps from the electric Miles palette to textural grooves, hinging on the oil slick interplay between Harrington’s guitar and Walter’s keys. The rhythm section screws things down tight for the two to wind their way around the headspace in increasingly fluid forms, letting improv lead the way down endless rabbit holes of heat and humidity.

The band’s demeanor finds them locked towards languid more often than not, giving this one a hazy, relaxed feeling that’s more about Sunday mornings than Saturday nights. The band knows how to catapult percolating rhythms and heat-rippled keys into the kind of grooves that open up a day slowly. A pair of darker cuts, “Boogie In The House of Secrets (pts 1 & 2)” prove the band isn’t all foggy mornings, though, and they hint at darker things to come. Harrington’s guitars glint on the two standout tracks, drawing a bit of blood on their way back to the smoke-billow bliss of the rest of the record. It’s amazing how tight the band feels after such a short tenure, but here’s hoping this is just the start of things to come from the new outfit.

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