TH’ LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS
Pandelirium
Yep Roc
THE MINUS FIVE
s/t (The Gun Album)
Yep Roc
· The Minus 5 is a warm gun and Th' Shack Shakers are legends in their own minds.
Armed with a super-slick punk rock drum beat, Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers are back with the Gypsy-infused rockabilly circus sideshow that is Pandelirium – 12 songs that mix several styles including two-steppin’ toe tappers, psychotic reels and melodramatic hymns. There are a few familiar names amongst the guest stars on this record, including Jello Biafra doing some back-up vocals on a couple of tracks and Rev. "Horton" Jim Heath and Fats Kaplan playing guitar, fiddle and banjo, respectively.
With vocals that gruffly blare their case in each song, the singalong chorus of "No Such Thing" and the light fun of "The Ballad of Speedy Atkins" together with "Thin the Herd," a quick and dirty blues instrumental, are welcome diversions on the Shack Shakers path.
The production on Pandelirium is dynamic and serves the band relatively well however, there is something about this release that makes me more interested in seeing the band live than in listening to the album again. The energy of the recording seems too consistent for what these fellas are up to and ultimately, I was pulled in too many directions to want to listen to the entire CD on a regular basis. That said, there are a few gems here.
The Minus Five are one of those bands that employs several recognizable names. A project spearheaded by Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows, who has played semi-regularly with REM, you can find other REMers Peter Buck and Ken Stringfellow, Bloodshot Records’ favourite Kelly Hogan and the entire lineup of Wilco — and still the sound is different from the sum of its parts.
Pop songs performed with rock urgency, The Gun Album is a tight unit of experimental roots music and extremely rounded songwriting. Beatles-esque is often a loaded way of describing a band’s sound, however, The Minus Five do incorporate some of the better Fab techniques into the production and arrangement of the album’s 13 songs. The band recently toured as a three-piece, opening for Robyn Hitchcock, and that is actually a great launching point for understanding the evolution of their music.
The pensive "Cemetery Row" flows beautifully alongside the chuggy momentum of "Hotel Senator," and then there is the flat-out fury of "Aw Shit Man"(what a relief to hear some old-fashioned cussing in rock again!).
Without going back too far, The Gun Album, the band’s seventh full-length release, is a wonderful way to spend 45 minutes, either all at once or one at a time.
TH’ LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS 3/5
THE MINUS FIVE 4/5
JANE McCULLOUGH
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