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The Shondes - The Red Sea

Rating

RIYL

The World/Inferno Friendship Society
Kiss Kiss
Alkaline Trio

Tracklist

1. Don't Look Down
2. Your Monster
3. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
4. Winter
5. Lets Go
6. I Watched The Temple Fall
7. The Water
8. What Love Is
9. The Mother And The Colony
10. Don't Whisper
11. The Start Of Everything

The Shondes operate on a tightwire, balancing the yelps and screams of guitarist Ian Brannigan and the soulful voice of bassist Louisa Solomon, each one building off of the limitations of the other, deepening the sound of the band rather than letting it plateau. The Red Sea, the group’s debut effort, is a blend of the cabaret-punk stylings of The World/Inferno Friendship Society and the dark, moodiness of Alkaline Trio, drawing from each but never feeling derivative.

The Red Sea isn’t perfect, though: far from it in fact. Solomon’s voice has clear limitations, often sounding strained, not always fitting in with music, making it more off-kilter than it intends to be. The production is mediocre, instruments stepping on one another, making the album sound claustrophobic. Yet, through all of these shortcomings, The Red Sea is a great cd. Its songs are complex, and while sounding similar throughout the disc, feel like they’re building on each other rather than being simple repetitions.

Moments where the guitar and violin compete with each other, juxtaposing the grace of Elijah Oberman’s string work with the crunching power chords of Brannigan’s guitar, are stunning. The sonic palettes at these points are almost unrivaled in the cabaret-punk genre, complimenting Solomon’s voice in a way that extends the thematic tone of the album making it feel like a fully realized, cohesive work rather than a bunch of catchy songs. While the album is a good exercise in artistic punk, it is made great by the fact that the songs are catchy. The Red Sea is something that can be listened to either as a whole or incrementally: it works both ways, which is rare today.

The songs range from punk ragers, like “Don’t Look Down”, which starts off the album, showcasing both the instrumental diversity of the band and the sheer fury that The Shondes are their core, to “Winter,” a piano driven mournful ballad that offers a nice contrast, slowing things down without bringing the album to a halt. It’s this attention to detail in the songs, making them fit in with one another, advancing the dark mood and themes of the album, but making them unique and memorable in their own right, that makes this a stand-out debut.

--Matt McGraw