Giant

Giant is a slightly more polished and rock-oriented release than the Spore albums preceding it — some of the band's indie rock constructions are dropped in favor of the turgid, skronky riff-rock that was always a defining element of their sound. Luckily, Spore is fairly good at these typically Bostonian heavy rock conventions, and Giant fares well. Compared with the rest of the band's work, the album's only drawback is the use of occasionally whiny monotone vocals which, despite their more melodic ambitions, don't quite live up to the rhythmic screams and yelps of releases like She Knows Better. Of course, this newly polished rock approach loses the reckless, occasionally tongue-in-cheek charm of the band's earlier releases. The more serious the band gets, the less appealing it is.