Teedubyabee
Any band that sounds like it's in desperate need of an intervention/exorcism/hug is alright by me. Extra points for making Eastenders' Stace n' Brad saga sound like a harrowing snuff film.
Favorite track: Mike.
Art Fin
Experimental noise rock/art punk with unhinged, moaning, atonal vocals that were probably sung while writhing on the floor. Reminds me of Brooklyn's Shimmer and Les Georges Leningrad.
Shake Chain have been busy demolishing audiences and expectations for the best part of the last three years. Vocalist Kate Mahony sets that standard by anything from crawling through the audience’s legs in a bright yellow raincoat to crying and washing her hands in a nearby toilet, as the rest of the band start the set. A feeling of anxiety and unease conjures relevant questioning, ‘what an earth is going on?’, ‘am I hallucinating?’ and ‘is this part of the show?’, all hallmarks of Shake Chain’s unruly and lyric-bespattered rock show.
The four-piece from London are completed by Robert Eyres (Synth/Guitar), Chris Hopkins (Bass/Synth/Samples) and Joe Fergey (Drums). Born from the ashes of their former bands, the group met with a desire to create something that would feel new for each of them and audibly take its own course. The result is a nervous propulsion of bass lines, twitchy guitars that jolt and jerk and tack sharp drums, overridden by screeching vocal slurs and sampled television. Kate’s singing is a unique embrace of flights of atonal fancy, head-first repetition and ecstatic frenzy. Opinion-dividing arguably, but singular in making Shake Chain dauntingly brilliant.
Shake Chain’s debut album ‘Snake Chain’ was recorded in the New Forest’s Chuckalumba Studios early in 2022, a tranquil setting only slightly skewed by the intense extratropical cyclone of storm Eunice and the ghosts of the dopethrone. Kate likens the album to “crying in a Catholic sex dungeon with Eastenders on”, perhaps only half tongue in cheek given the soapy dramatics of opening track ‘Stace’. ‘RU’ is a stompy triumph of ad lib monotony, heavy and wonky, its vocal slowly unwinding into residual sense. Shake Chain’s songs are populated with cowboys, cherry-pickers, content-addicts, private investments, a careless driver called Mike, architects and by much lamentation at the state of our confusing existence. This last point underlined in luminous marker pen with slow-building vortex ‘Highly Conceptual’ and whispered closer ‘Duck’.
‘Copy Me’ races along with radiant headbangs of dynamic abandon, one part tumble, two parts pummel, “hold your breath til something changes” commands Kate whilst everything of course is in hammering flux. ‘Second Home’ is similarly coruscating yet buoyant, whilst ‘Arthur’ feels like it could tear inside in two amid sobbing wails and the twining of its disparate parts. Throughout all the unhinged freakouts, found sounds and blasting rhythms though is Kate’s questioning, resilient presence, anchoring everything. On bruising creeper ‘Birthday’ she asks most tellingly “Do we speak language or does language speak us? Is there a mouth in the middle of the desert? Do you ask how cups are designed? Would you say yes when you really mean I don’t know”? Shake Chain are cathartic and absurd, humorous and deadly serious yet always inspired. It’s this tightrope walk which makes their album such a thrilling, vital listen. ‘Snake Chain’ will be released on November 18th by Upset The Rhythm, a 180g red/clear splatter vinyl version is available to pre-order now (due to ship late November).
A fantastic album. I can see why they didn't continue under the name The Evens, as it's a different sound with the bass added. Coriky is the Evens + Joe Lally from Fugazi on bass. If you can imagine The Evens with a slightly more funky, aggressive sound like Fugazi... that's what you get! And there's no way that can ever go wrong. What a great debut album!! smiledozer
Experimental pop artist and WFMU radio personality Abbie from Mars re-introduces herself on this playful, idiosyncratic album. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 14, 2022
The mix of shoegaze, punk, and noise from this Seattle band is notable for its urgency and bright, foregrounded vocals. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 9, 2023
The great underlying instrumentation paired with Florence's droll stream of consciousness lyrics make this album stand out. It feels so personal and confessional. Favorite tracks are Strong Feelings and Leafy. I've heard Scratchard Lanyard on alt radio and love that one as well. tofupotpie