''The Giant Pin'' is the second album by The Nels Cline Singers led by American guitarist

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been a guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has wor ...

which was released in August 2003 on the Cryptogramophone label.

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review by William Tilland awarded the album 4 stars out of 5, stating "it offers the most dramatic example of Cline's general ability to synthesize beauty, emotion, intellect, technique, and even humor in his playing". Writing for

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

, Alex K. Fong stated "The compositions on ''The Giant Pin'' simultaneously evoke traditional jazz, blues, post rock, and free improvisation without any of the awkward deliberateness found on the trio's debut release ''Instrumentals''. That's a testament to the development of Cline's writing and the group's chemistry".

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

's Sam Ubl stated "Cline has fused his jazz and rock interests before but ''The Giant Pin'' takes both poles to heretofore untouched extremes-- especially at the low-volume end of the spectrum. Stark stylistic and dynamic contrasts pervade the album, yet the transitions are smooth. The record is quieter and more restrained than other The Singers releases, making it a rewarding if slightly less exhilarating final product. Whether Cline will continue to cleave himself from the gigging life remains to be seen, but for now he's handling the balancing act quite nicely".

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

' David R. Adler noted "Cline's music is resolutely left of the dial, a challenge. But its dynamics, rhythmic intensity and frequently searing melodicism are a joy. It's easy to imagine listeners of many stripes cottoning to his sound. (Might he lure Wilco fans toward far-out jazz?)".Adler, D. R.
JazzTimes review
October 2004

Track listing

''All compositions by Nels Cline except as indicated'' # "Blues, Too" - 3:13 # "Fly Fly" - 7:03 # "He Still Carries a Torch for Her" - 6:43 # "The Ballad of Devin Hoff" - 7:48 # "The Friar" (Devin Hoff, Nels Cline, Scott Amendola) - 1:15 # "Something About David H." - 10:12 # "Bright Moon" - 11:03 # "A Boy Needs a Door" - 4:34 # "Square King" - 5:26 # "Spell" - 9:22 # "Watch Over Us" - 6:25

Personnel

;The Nels Cline Singers *

– electric guitar, effects *

Devin Hoff Devra Hoff is an American bassist, composer, and arranger. She is a member of Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory and co-founder of Mendoza Hoff Revels with Ava Mendoza. Career Hoff composed work for the ''Wholphin'' short film ''Look ...

– contrabass *

Scott Amendola Scott Amendola (born February 6, 1969) is an American drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. His styles include jazz, blues, groove, and rock.Andrew Gilbert"Exploring New Degrees In Drumming" ''sfgate.com'', October 3, 2004. Early life and ed ...

– drums, percussion, electronics, loops, mbira ;Additional musicians *

Jon Brion Jon Brion (born December 11, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established pro ...

– keyboards *

Greg Saunier Gregory Lovell Saunier ( , born 18 May 1969) is a musician, producer, and composer best known as the drummer and founding member of Deerhoof. ''Rolling Stone'' included Saunier alongside Brian Chippendale (of Lightning Bolt) and Zach Hill ( ...

– voice

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giant Pin, The 2004 albums Nels Cline Singers albums Cryptogramophone Records albums