Dan Giberman - Thrills Without Gills: A Celebration Of The Living Land

Someone once said that all the best bands have no more than five members and no fewer than three. Maybe it was a Gallagher, maybe it was in a dream, maybe it was just someone down the pub. Whoever it was they were clearly an idiot. The proof (if at all needed) is here in Dan Giberman.

In fact when it comes to stupid pre-conceived ideas you may have about him as a singer songwriter Giberman goes about destroying them with absolute relish. First off he’s a one-man band, albeit a one-man band in the best possible sense (in other words he plays every instrument under the sun without the need for a bass drum strapped to his back). So, I hear you cry, he doesn’t sound like a busker then?

A rather cheap looking front cover shouldn’t make you roll your eyes and scoff in anticipation at what must be equally amateurish music inside. Looks can be deceiving. ‘Thrills Without Gills: A Celebration of the Living Land’ is a superbly crafted album, perfectly showcasing Giberman and his toe tappingly upbeat shoegazey folk. It’s certainly much better than the ugly Photoshopped sleeve would suggest anyway.

His nearly whispered vocal husk makes his sweet little songs all the sweeter. And they are little songs. This ten-track album comes in at about twenty-six minutes long. It’s like listening to a collection of short stories. They’re poignant (‘You’re A Professional Actor’). They’re funny (‘Days Bright And Blessed’). And they’re occasionally a tad weird, ‘pork chop, dust collecting brides shave their fat legs’ from ‘Freefall Eucalyptus’ may be one of the most brilliantly bizarre lyrics of all time. Each one picks up on different characters, be it your maths genius younger brother (‘Days Bright And Blessed’) or the struggling actor (‘You’re A Professional Actor’), each one is totally different and yet equally fascinating.

The album perhaps suffers from a lack of a real standout track but Giberman is a young songwriter who can, and no doubt will, hold his own with the cream of the leftfield singer songwriter crop (take note Bright Eyes and Beirut). Delivering above and beyond the expectations of this reviewer, the result is an album full of wonder, making ‘Thrills Without Gills: A Celebration of the Living Land’ one of the nicest surprises of the new year.