The Shaker Hymn - Rascal's Antique (Heavy Noids Records)
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| The Shaker Hymn - Rascal's Antique |
It must be a pretty special
moment when you get to release your first album after years of work and toil to
hone your craft in to something you can be proud of. Cork quartet (Corket?) The
Shaker Hymn have certainly done some honing and the resultant collection of
songs, complete with gorgeous cover art, is sumptuous. 'We Are Awake' and 'You
Taste Like Nothing (On The Vine)' open up the album with a sense of the Divine
Comedy's suaveness mixed with a splash of country'n'western attitude and an indie
work ethic. 'Hunter & The Headman' has a choppy guitar riff which combines
beautifully with the crooning vocals that have a nice blend of Irish charm and
American arrogance. 'Caroline' sweeps and swoons beautifully with some subdued
slide guitar while 'The Runaway' has a folky gallop to it like the thundering
hooves of a desperate horse carrying a panicked man away from a place that no
longer extends a welcome to him.
The lazy whistling that
introduces 'Get Away' gives clear indication that this will be a shuffling,
countrified tune before 'Hang You From Your Heart' bursts in with the attitude
of Lynyrd Skynyrd and that Neil Hannon smoothness that we all fell in love with
in the 90s. On 'Cold Unknown' the band build slowly from a gentle acoustic
opening to a swooning piece of heartfelt indie balladry that will surely
soundtrack a thousand break ups. As the album nears it's close we are treated
to the story telling of 'Deadweight' which has a Grinderman meets the Zutons
feel to it. The closing track, 'What The Enemy Calls The Heart', is a
delightfully gorgeous, string infused tune perfect for slow dancing to at the
end of the night but with just enough punch to get keep you interested below
the waist, if you know what I mean. It's taken a fair few years for the Shaker
Hymn to get to this point but I think they were years well spent on the
evidence of this album so I encourage you to immerse yourself in their music -
either in an arm chair with a glass of your favourite tipple on a solo road
trip on some long, open roads.
More information: http://theshakerhymn.bandcamp.com/
Live Dates:
6th June - De Barras, Cork
12th June - The Medicine Sessions, Waterford
13th June - Briery Gap Theatre, Macroom
14th June - Dolan's Warehouse, Limerick
22nd June - Pine Lodge, Myrtleville
28th June - The Pavilion, Cork w/Foxjaw