Shannon and the Clams – Dreams in the Rat House LP NEW Cheap

Shannon and the Clams – Dreams in the Rat House LP

NEW. SEALED.

Hardly Art Records

Shannon and the Clams third album, 2013 s Dreams in the Rathouse, signals a tiny step forward for the trio. Recorded over the course of a year in cool places like a cabin in the woods and Nobunny s practice space, the album sounds tougher and stronger than previous efforts, Shannon Shaw s vocals have a more powerful presence, and the songs are better overall. Not that there was much wrong with the jumpy, scruffy late- 50s early- 60s rock & roll-worshiping records they had made in the last couple years. Dreams just seems to put it all together in a way those albums didn t quite accomplish. From the opening Hey Willy, which gets things started in a happy, bouncy fashion with some excellent guitar and vocal work from Cody Blanchard, to the blown-out girl group in a wind tunnel I Know, which ends the album with one of Shaw s best vocals, the record is all high points with precious few dips in quality. The album never settles into any one groove, throwing out doo wop dreamers, tender late-night girl group ballads, a few pounding rockers, and a genius stab at garage rock (the ferocious Bed Rock ). There are a couple times when the band s frenetic playing gets them in trouble and things go off the rails a bit, but mostly they keep things under control and deliver the trashy goods. Blanchard and Shaw s vocal interplay is much improved, too, and while they sound excellent on their own (Blanchard snappy and raw; Shaw with a booming, pushed-close-to-the-breaking-point intensity), they sound made for each other on the songs where they share vocals. The ballads sounds especially good; when the tempo slows and Blanchard s twangy guitar has some space to play, it gives Shaw s heartbroken vocals a chance to truly shine. Check her out on If I Could Count or Unlearn — she could have been a Shangri-La, no problem. That she doesn t totally overshadow the rest of the band, and that the songwriting matches her vocal prowess, is a testament to how good Shannon and the Clams are on Dreams in the Rathouse. Quite a few people are doing this kind of music in 2013; precious few are doing it this well.