Haze

Description

Fronted by 19-year-old singer/bassist Shannon Wise and 21-year-old guitarist/producer Max Shrager, The Shacks are already well on their way to becoming one of the years big breakouts, and their remarkable debut album, Haze, solidifies their status as a band with ability to deliver on the well-deserved buzz. When Max and Shannon met in high school, a bond was created that has permeated their music since the Shacks first incarnation four years ago. That chemistry lies at the heart of Haze, a record so hypnotic and seductive that it feels more like a whispered late-night secret than a young bands debut. Produced together by Shrager and Big Crown co-founder Leon Michels (whos played with Bradley, Sharon Jones, and Fields in addition to working with The Arcs, Lana Del Rey, and countless others). Haze opens with the title track, which is, appropriately enough, the first song Shrager and Wise ever wrote together. Its a spare, smoky tune that shimmers and sparkles as it shifts in and out of focus, and its an ideal gateway into the immersive world of The Shacks. On the breezy Follow Me, they channel the infectious charm of a 60s girl group, while the soulful My Name Is grooves its way through a mesmerizing take on 70s funk. Much like a dream, the songs often merge the familiar and the unfamiliar, constructing their own psychedelic reality full of beauty and yearning, all fueled by Wises breathy vocals and the unmistakable electricity of a wildly creative band truly inhabiting their music. Birds makes brilliant use of Daptone drum hero Homer Steinwesss impeccable feel behind the kit, while the 50s ballad-meets-baroque pop of Cryin tips its cap to Roy Orbison and John Lennon as Shrager takes over lead vocals, and the soulful shuffle of Texas belies a dark and violent undercurrent ripped from the headlines. Through it all permeates an unshakable sense that this is a group performing just for you. Nobody finds the Shacks re-interpreting Phil Spectors Wagnerian approach to rock & roll, complete with sweeping strings and darkly innocent lyrics. The 13 songs featured on Haze plays out like the soundtrack to some long lost 16mm film, beckoning you into their grainy, saturated world of analog beauty. In the short time that theyve been hypnotic cover of Ray Davies This Strange Effect soundtracked a global iPhone commercial, one which actually stars Wise herself, and their self-titled EP earned the band dates with St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Chicano Batman, and their Big Crown Records labelmates Lee Fields & The Expressions.