Labels: altinvillageandmine – Narshardaa
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Couple of confusing thigns about this record.
1) The cover. Eh?
2) The b-side is basically a bunch of bands covering one of Shokei’s songs. I am not even going to listen to that.
The proper songs are on the A-side, and Shokei exhibit a deft, mathy touch that succeeds where Pete the Pirate Squid failed – it has a groove! Not sure about the keyboard parts though. The music winds in typical math rock fashion, vocals are shouted urgently, and it’s difficult to hear the words. The press sheet compares them to Unwound, which is a bit much. This is good, but it’s no Unwound, though you can detect the influence. That said, I am going to compare them to Fugazi. Haha! Such contradictions! I have to say it’s a bit arty-farty in place, particularly the song “White Eagle”, with peculiarly group talky vocals. Very German.
I did prefer this band when they sounded like Shotmaker, and the most emo track “Night Swim” is definitely a stand out, taking a tougher, more energetic stance that forges ahead. Regardless, the A-side of this record is a solid, straight-forward, mathematical conundrum, kind of like an easy Sudoku. I really like the silver insert. You can find out how the B-side is for yourself. This should have been a 10″, dudes.