It has been several months since a disc that will contend for Top Ten honors in 2004 has arrived in my mailbox - that is not the case anymore. The Grip Weeds fourth full-length disc, Giant On The Beach (on Rainbow Quartz), features [13] tracks of primo pseudo-60s psych-pop that leaves one admiring this band's talent for building on a 60s (Byrds, Kinks, Who, Amboy Dukes) foundation with an originality that many contemporary bands lack. Jangly guitars are sometimes pronounced and sometimes blended into the Grip Weeds' "wall of guitars" sound. It's not the jangly guitars that keep me listening to their songs - it's the great songwriting, great riffs and wonderful harmonies...Long may you run, Kristin, Kurt, Rick and Michael. - Eric Sorensen