Pitchfork

Giraffe Running consists of Dublin-based instrumentalists Greg Barrett and Hag. The first disc in their just-released double album, Giraffe Running, contains five tracks the two recorded on just bass and drums. The second disc is made up of 15 collaborations based on those original five compositions. Battles guitarist Ian Williams, formerly of Pittsburgh's Don Caballero, lends some often discordant six-string work to "Fuckin' Funny Fire/Dudeen", a mathy instrumental track. Giraffe Running's Hag plays everything else, banging away on the drums, bass and electric guitars, and keyboards. Near the end, Hag offers a trumpet solo that's skronkier than Williams' guitar figures. Battles fans may miss Tyondai Braxton on effects-mangled vocals, but when the rest of the album includes such promising titles as "When Michael Jackson started Celtic Frost / Popcorn Rex", it's an absence we'll have to bear.