The Giants of Midgard bring energetic rock vibes and sheer fun on their new record Beware.

Giants of Midgard are about to release their new album Beware, a hyper-local telltale collection of songs with creative and comical titles. The band originated in 2013 with Jodi Hanson on vocals and Noel Hanson (also of the band Jaggernauts) on bass and guitar. Rounding out the trio was Brent Kuchenmeister on guitar, bass, and keyboards.

“Now that we have an album out, we’re looking forward to getting back to Madison and the Fox Valley and do some shows with and for our friends.” – Brent Kuchenmeister, Giants of Midgard

Noel and Brent met in the Chippewa Falls High School music program and this is their sixth band together. With this history, the two are able to easily trade off between guitar and bass from track to track. Justin LeMay of Thunderlung is on drums. With this new release they’ve gathered a consortium of local friends and players to contribute to the album: Cory Crowell (a.k.a. Fathom) raps, Steve Bateman plays harmonic, and backing vocals come from Nancy Olson, Jennifer Blakeley, and Anastasia Vishnevsky.

Beware was recorded with Jaime Hansen, and Neal Sipress handled the mastering process on the album. The songs are hyper-local, name dropping the Stones Throw on “Battle of the Grunge,” which is also a reference to the classic EC band Grunge Machine. “Gothic Mac” was inspired by a “10 things you should never do in a horror movie” list that Noel found on the Internet. And the campy joy and wonderment of “Why Do Texans Bite?” with “ooh wow wow” in the vocal mix gives you an idea of the stellar fun this outfit has in crafting songs together.

With nods to Black Flag and Robert Pollard, their energetic and eclectic live shows typically play out at the Mousetrap or House of Rock – the latter will host their record release party on Friday, Nov. 25. Brent details future aspirations for the band: “We just try to write as many songs as we can and then see which ones stand out and are worth keeping. Now that we have an album out, we’re looking forward to get back to Madison and the Fox Valley and do some shows with and for our friends.”

Beware will be for sale at the band’s live shows and at Revival Records. To sample it, visit their Bandcamp page: giantsofmidgard.bandcamp.com.

Listen to Beware