No Shade – Broken Down EP 
Release Date: 18th
December 2020
Some artists grab you from the
word go and No Shade is one of those artists. The US based solo artist hits
hard with the opening track of the ‘Broken Down’ EP as ‘Comeback’ starts with a
throbbing sound followed by a barrage of guitars and drums, sewn together with
clear and emotive vocals. By huge contrast, ‘Alone’ sounds like it could be the
opening to a new and darker Ariana Grande track but soon builds in to an edgy
alt-pop-rock track that pitches processed beats against huge guitar riffs.
‘Broken Down’ follows on and has a more downbeat energy to it but No Shade
still manages to fit in a snarling guitar sound which packs a real punch.
The mix of alt-pop beats and
melodies with those massive rock guitar riffs is really refreshing and the
perfect example of this is ‘Stay Too Long’ which has periods of delicate
melodies and subdued beats juxtaposed with moments of intense rock. ‘Suffice’
follows a similar pattern but there is some excellent guitar solo work to be
found while closing track ‘Go’ aims straight at the jugular and churns out a
track of impeccable guitar work blended with those pitch perfect vocals and
electronic atmospherics. No Shade will appeal to fans of Tool, Pitchshifter and
Korn but there’s a melodic side as well that will find fans of early Incubus
material (think ‘Certain Shade of Green’) feeling very much at home.