Shannon & The Clams - Dreams In The Rat House
Label.........................: Hardly Art
Genre.........................: Indie
StoreDate.....................: May-21-2013
Source........................: CDDA
Grabber.......................: Exact Audio Copy (Secure Mode)
Encoding Scheme...............: Lame 3.98.4 V0 VBR Joint-Stereo
Size..........................: 78.05 MB
Total Playing Time............: 40:22
Release Notes:
Oakland trio Shannon and the Clams have a broad musical vocabulary that
belies their simple, trad setup. Their sound contains lo-fi's distorted
treble, the gruff tumble of rockabilly, the soaring heights of R&B
balladry, and the weirdness of mid-60s psychedelia. Their albums have
the feel of a freeform AM station whose DJs and programmers get their
jollies from being gleefully unpredictable, the kind that wouldnÆt think
twice about following up a tender oldie like ôOh Louieö with a
punkabilly romp called ôCat Partyö.
Songwriters Shannon Shaw and Cody Blanchard frequently switch duties as
lead singer, sometimes within the same song, which is testament to both
their differences and the clarity of their shared vision. TheyÆre
singers whose range and timbre often makes it difficult to tell which of
them is singing lead (which is more interesting than it is negative),
but they're sharp lyricists with very different writing styles. On
Dreams in the Rat House, ShawÆs ôOzmaö is a touching eulogy about her
dearly departed dog, while BlanchardÆs ôHeads or Tailsö is a fictional
narrative about a vagabond with a coin in his pocket that he flips
whenever he needs to make a critical life decision.
Dreams in the Rat House combines elements of their debut, I Wanna Go
Home (particularly the off-the-cuff hijinks and threadbare fidelity),
with the songwriting focus of their great second effort, Sleep Talk.
Songs like ôIf I Could Countö and ôThe RabbitÆs Noseö toy with complex
melody and song structure while exhibiting the fine art of making it all
look easy. ôRip Van Winkleö takes a generations-old fable and turns it
into a monologue from a heart-struck woman waiting for a lover to return
to her, and has a glittery lead guitar part and a soaring chorus that
combine to far more than the sum of its parts. In the number of years
theyÆve played together, Shaw and Blanchard have learned how to
disassemble the parts and rebuild them in a way that sounds both classic
and wild at the same time.
But their chief attribute is how fun their songs sound. They can do
sinister, ghastly garage-punk like the Mummies (ôBed Rockö) or throw
faux-ghoulish noises that suggest parody but never cross that line (ôRat
Houseö) without coming across as a novelty act. Blanchard and Shaw are
dedicated enough to songcraft to the extent that itÆs evident theyÆre
not just fucking around.
One common misconception about certain corners of garage rock is that
there's a lack of serious-mindedness among its proponents. But thereÆs a
broad line between having a good time and making a joke out of
something. When Shannon and the Clams pull out a ballad as affecting as
ôUnlearnö, it becomes apparent that theyÆre just as good at tugging
heartstrings as cackling after tracking those googly noises in ôRat
Houseö. When they craft a goodbye as poignant in its simplicity as ôI
Knowö, itÆs like Shaw and Blanchard know youÆre going to realize youÆve
underestimated the emotional resonance of their songwriting. And thatÆs
when they know theyÆve got you hooked.
--7.1/10 Pitchfork
Tracklisting
01. Hey Willy 2:39
02. Rip Van Winkle 2:12
03. Bed Rock 2:15
04. Ozma 3:27
05. Into The River 3:45
06. If I Could Count 3:58
07. Rat House 2:42
08. The Rabbit's Nose 3:18
09. Heads Or Tails 4:11
10. Unlearn 4:21
11. Into A Dream 2:56
12. I Know 4:38
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