Posted by Jack in 2010 | 0 Comments
Let’s Dance: Shannon & the Clams
Shannon & the Clams might blow up sometime soon, due to their most recent and fervent release, I Wanna Go Home (1-2-3-4 Go! records), as well as their friendship with Austin-darlings Harlem, but even if they don’t start selling records by the crate-full, it’s pretty obvious that these guys will still be happy channeling blood-soaked prom queens and playing basement shows in their native Oakland.
Shannon has all the makings of a radio queen from the 50′s and early 60′s, but she’s also inherited all the disgust and distrust of a childhood spent maturing in the 80′s and 90′s. It is her voice that pushes the band into new auditory realms, and without her vocal chords or a distortion pedal, this trio would just sound like another band too busy worshiping their idols to push the envelope.
“Troublemaker,” and “You Can Come Over,” are both off of I Wanna Go Home, and are perfect examples of the frenzied, poodle-skirt sound of Shannon & the Clams. It’s evident that these guys aren’t trying to grave rob any rock n’ roll mausoleums, instead they use musical atavism as a form of protest, the middle finger given to auto-tune and mixers larger than an 8 track; or maybe they just think the music sounds good.
