The band’s first album, Metridium Fields, seemed to be a perfect fit for The End Records, taking experimental post rock on its head with chants, brass sections and an off kilter sense of ambition that defied categorization, and while The Ichthyologist sticks to the same tenets, it’s a far more laid back and structured album, that’s more in line with Gratz’s other project Grayceon.

While the maritime/nautical concept of the album may be responsible for the album’s more fluid, shimmering, and ebbing rock based sound, the overall backbone of the band is the same with a quirky tone with Gregory’s Serj Tankian like voice, some screams, some gruff roars, some trumpets, some cellos and a non conformist approach to song writing. Still – as off the wall as it all sounds, it’s far more structured and reigned in, and thusly more enjoyable than Metridium Fields. The songs are shorter and more focused with nothing going over 8 minutes as opposed to the 9 and 21 minute largely overdrawn and programming heavy forays of the last album.

On the whole, Gratz’s cello (and at times vocals) on the more languid, relaxing tracks like “La Brea Tar Pits”, “Sutterville”, “Dead Man Slough”, “Mormon Island”, “Sevengill”, mesmerizing ballad “Emerald Bay” and excellent “Blue Linkia” is more prevalent, certainly cementing the more Grayceon like hues of the album. There are only a couple of spurts of off kilter post/lounge rock such as “Panthalassa”, “Throwing a Donner Party at Sea” and hypnotic closer “Rubicon Wall”, that still ensure that the album is tangibly Giant Squid, just more gentle in its experimental throes. However, the lessened presence of Gregory’s vocals may be a benefit as his distinct chant/shout may be a sticking point with some listeners.

Giant Squid have never been and never will be for everyone, but the more laid back, less chaotic and less rangy tone of The Ichthyologist makes them a much easier pill to swallow, and finally with the backing of a good label, reach the appropriate ears.

Translation Loss Records will release The Ichthyologist this summer in correlation with the bands summer tour alongside label mates GRAYCEON (*TL has a Giant Squid / Grayceon split planned for 2010). Engineered, mixed and produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Pearl Jam), The Ichthyologist was self-released earlier this year by the band as a work in progress and has now been tweaked with parts being completely re-recorded and remixed due to the band’s constant strive for perfection from their mastermind / lunatic, Aaron John Gregory. The record will also be repackaged with completely redone / original art by legendary, world-renowned cartoon artist, Sam Kieth (The Maxx, Batman, The Sandman). The band’s lineup is rounded out by Jackie Perez Gratz of Amber Asylum / Grayceon, Bryan Ray Beeson and Christopher Melville Lyman. GIANT SQUID’s last record was released via The End Records and the band has since appeared on a tribute to SYD BARRET late last year alongside Pentagram, Kylesa and Jesu.

Christian McKenna from Translation Loss had this to say about the signing: “After floating around with Drew (TL) and Aaron in the Pacific right by Alcatraz collecting mollusks while avoiding sharks and paparazzi for several hours… the three of us decided it was a no brainer to work together.. GIANT SQUID is completely unique to anything going on in heavy music nowadays and we couldn’t be happier to be along for the ride.”

Visit http://www.myspace.com/giantsquid to check out the up to date information on the bands upcoming summer tour and current sound clips from “The Ichthyologist“! New remixed and re-mastered songs from the band’s Translation Loss debut will be posted soon!

GIANT SQUID CURRENT TOUR DATES:

Jun 19 2009 @ Forthrite Screenprinting, Karyn Crisis Art Show – FREE! Oakland, California

Jun 26 2009 @ The Phoenix Theater, w/ Slough Feg, Cormorant, Helms Alee, La Fin Du Monde Petaluma, California

Jun 27 2009 @ Cafe Coda W/ La Fin Du Monde, Helms Alee Chico, California

Jul 30 2009 @ Thee Parkside w/ Black Cobra, Grayceon, Cormorant San Francisco, California

Jul 31 2009 @ Old Ironsides w/ Grayceon, Them Hills, Young Aundee Sacramento, California

Aug 1 2009 @ Rotture w/ Thrones, Grayceon, Sedan Portland, Oregon

Aug 2 2009 @ Gusto’s w/ Grayceon, Pussygut Boise, Idaho

Aug 3 2009 @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge w/ Grayceon, Nine Worlds, Eagle Twin Salt Lake City, Utah

Aug 4 2009 @ Bar Bar w/ Grayceon, Kingdom of Magic Denver, Colorado

Aug 5 2009 @ O’Leavers w/ Grayceon, Lepers Omaha, Nebraska

Aug 6 2009 @ The Aquarium w/ Grayceon, Sleeping In Gethsemane Fargo, North Dakota

Aug 7 2009 @ The Hexagon w/ Grayceon, Iron Thrones, Frontier Minneapolis, Minnesota

Aug 8 2009 @ U.S. Tour w/ Grayceon Chicago, Illinois

Aug 9 2009 @ Mac’s Bar w/ Grayceon Lansing, Michigan

Aug 10 2009 @ Howlers w/ Grayceon, Bloody Panda Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Aug 11 2009 @ US tour w/ Grayceon Cleveland, Ohio

Aug 12 2009 @ Union Pool w/ Grayceon, Hull Brooklyn, New York

Aug 13 2009 @ Machines With Magnets w/ Grayceon, Loon, Bellows Providence, Rhode Island

Aug 14 2009 @ TBA w/ Grayceon, Rosetta and Cable Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Aug 15 2009 @ The Milestone w/Grayceon Charlotte, North Carolina

Aug 16 2009 @ U.S. Tour Birmingham, Alabama

Aug 17 2009 @ Mia’s w/ Ketea Shreveport, Louisiana

Aug 18 2009 @ U.S. Tour New Orleans, Louisiana

Aug 19 2009 @ Downtown Music Little Rock, Arkansas

Aug 20 2009 @ U.S. Tour Lawrence, Kansas

Aug 21 2009 @ U.S. Tour Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Aug 22 2009 @ Red 7 w/ Lions Of Tsavo, Watching The Moon Austin, Texas

“The West” is a mesmerizing, organic number that features colliding cellos, crumbling riffs, and truly stunning cello (the Neurosis meets Apocalyptica sound is still viable) acoustic ambiance. It’s all backed by Gratz and Max Doyle’s contemplative voices. If the forthcoming new album has material at least this good, then pencil me in for a top 5 contender, as Grayceon’s sound is so creative, artisticm and beautifully subtle it’s almost unfair.

Giants Squid’s track, while solid and less introspective than Grayceon, is a heavier, more sprawling, unpredictable number. “Sutter’s Fort” cements why Giants Squid is a perfect fit on The End Records, with their collage of driving post-rock, Serj Tankian-styled vocals, female vocals and other-wordly, trippy programming and acoustics. Of course, due to only being one track, there’s more focus than the album, but Giant Squid still strike me as less cohesive and immediate than Grayceon; though the track’s mid-point is delectably relaxing (and sounds like Grayceon actually, not just because of Gratz).

While both bands are a tad different — they are pushing the boundaries for modern music — Grayceon and Giant Squid should be on your need-to-hear list in 2008.

With such an avant garde take on the usual, droning ebbs and flows of the genre, and as with new label mates Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum, Metridium Fields is a challenging listen, especially vocally, but one that is completely worth it. The mix of System of Down-ish wailing, monkish chants, female singing and Isis like roars somehow complements the hallucinogenic, Yellow Submarine, other worldly, ambient experimentation that flows throughout Metridium Fields, but will be the barrier for casual or curious listeners. Musically, a slightly Middle Eastern vibe (“Neonate”) and the odd brass band injections that litter the robust, introspective, post rock swathes (“Ampullae of Lorenzini”, “Revolution in the Water”), is a interesting addition to the ebbs and lulls, replete with ambient tangents and unpredictable forays into lengthy, lounging bouts of hazy stupor (“Namor Verses Siren”, “Summit”).

However, a couple of pointless, programmed tangents (“Megaptera in the Delta”, “Eating Machine”, the slightly drawn out title track ) do interrupt the overall, maritime flow of the album’s excellence Billy Anderson’s (Neurosis, High On Fire) production is unexpectedly clean and highlights the bands extraneous sounds, and the end result is a lush tapestry of artful and typically engaging, genre defying music from The End Records