Pitchfork

Photo by Michael Palmieri

You've seen them in pictures, now hear them on record: they are Blue Giant, musical side-thing of Viva Voce's Anita and Kevin Robinson, and they've put together a nice little EP for us.

Target Heart is due in stores January 13 on CD from the band and buyolympia.com, and March 10 on vinyl thanks to Jealous Butcher; those who pre-order either right now from buyolympia.com will get access to an instant download of the set. eMusic subscribers can also snap up the release as of this week, while the rest of the digital retail world gets it January 20.

The EP packs in six tunes, with the vinyl boasting additional covers of the Byrds and Kinks as bonus tracks. Original "Gone for Good", meanwhile, finds Anita trading vocals with duet-happy Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney fame. Tucker turned up at a couple Blue Giant gigs this year, as did Decemberists utility man Chris Funk, now a core member of the Robinsons' band, who contributes pedal steel on the EP.

On the live front, this Giant has a couple gigs in its native Pacific Northwest coming up next month. Until then, guess we'll have to settle for the Human, Young Marble, and Jolly Green varieties.

Oh, and for those wondering: a new Viva Voce record is in the works.

Target Heart EP:

01 Target Heart
02 Blue Sunshine
03 Lonely Girl
04 Clean the Clock
05 Gone for Good [ft. Corin Tucker]
06 Hell or High Water
07 Wasn't Born to Follow [The Byrds cover] *
08 Got to Be Free [Kinks cover] *

* vinyl-only bonus track

Blue Giant:

12-11 Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
12-19 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater ("Live Wire!" performance for OPB Radio)