The Shamus Twins “Garden Of Weeds”
The duo of Jerry Juden and Tim Morrow aka The Shamus Twins had a pretty good debut in 2004, so you have to wonder why this follow up took so long. It could be that both guys are still active in other bands (The Murder Bros., The Most, The Moondogs), so I’ll give ’em a bit of slack here. The sound is straight ahead garage-styled power pop that will appeal to fans of The Grip Weeds, The Beatles, Kinks and other guitar centric bands. “You Know My Name” is a tight catchy rocker, and “Garden Of Weeds,” a standout on the IPO Vol.10 compilation, remains a great track here. “Life Is Strange” has that great jangle and sha-la-la harmonies that you can sing along to. Like The Spongetones, the juxtaposition of strum, melody and a well timed hook in the chorus make most of the tracks here easy to enjoy. But I love it when they bring out uncommon rhythms and harmonic structures on “Did You Have To Change.” The song brings out the best in the band, and some of the other tracks just can’t touch it. A few tracks don’t quite have the hooks (“Beyond You,” “I Never Been Happy”) but overall the Twins are leaps and bounds better than most bands. Highly Recommended for sure.
Alejandra O’Leary “Nothing Out Loud”
Maine native Alejandra O’Leary creates a pop album that goes through the frustrations of a relationship from a personal perspective. The guitar sound is influenced by the British sixites, but the lyrical angst is closer to 50’s icons Lesley Gore and The Shangri Las. Her vocals tremble slightly as she croons “Ever After” the standout track here. It’s your girlfriend unloading her anger on you with a beautifully jangling guitar as accompaniment. “Love I Been In” is a slower lament on her sour date where “to kiss you is as far as I can go.” The song compositions are good, but occasionally it doesn’t work with O’Leary’s vocals (“Tremor”). The next best song here “Rally” is a retro-styled track, with catchy hand claps and a Phil Spector studio echo. From there most of the songs are ballads that don’t quite stick. The confessional “People Like Me” ends it on a positive note where collaborator guitarist Doug Kwartler is able to bring out the best in Alejandra, and it’s comparable to Liz Phair. I hope for future offerings closer to this style, because “Nothing Out Loud” seems to wander all over the place.
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