New Music Tuesday: Legendary Shack Shakers, The Southern Surreal
I have to admit, I’m struggling to like this one. I like the swampy dirt vibe they are going for here a lot, but I’m a little disappointed by the execution.
The lyrics to MisAmerica, like the similarly-named pagent, insult my feminist sensibilities with their slut-shaming ham-fistedness. Modern rockabilly acts aren’t exactly known for their progressive lyrical content, and subject matter need not be agreeable for me to like it (murder ballads and gospel songs for example), but this song feels a bit half-assed, so I’m more bothered by the tropes. The fact that I really love this band probably exasterbates this issue for me.
Mud, on the other hand, is growing on me. There are some traditional hooks and references in there I can’t quite put my finger on, and this really works for me.
Other sweet spots are the haunting baritone vocals in Cold—I like the campy introduction, too. Down to the Bone has some redeeming qualities, as well. The album does start picking up here. Christ Alrighty and The Buzzard and the Bell sound “Shack Shakey,” but they still suffer from weak vocal performances. I guess that’s what this really comes down to for me.
Legendary Shack Shakers performances are… legendary. They are extremely dynamic, highly improvised, hilarious, a little frightening, and very musical. This record, however, is lacking much of that in my opinion. Perhaps holding a strong live band like this to an equally high recording standard is unfair. I find most of the vocal performances on this record too clear, enunciated and dry. The lyrics are peppered with clichés that feel a bit Disney esque. I think I was expecting more Billy Childish or Blues Explosion, and less Nightmare Before Christmas.
I know I sound like a total dick here. These are hard-working dudes who bust their asses to entertain. But I also know what they’re capable of. At this point I’d give The Southern Surreal a “meh” rating… if I had a rating system (Maybe I should come up with a rating system). I’ll give it a few hundred more spins this week and see where I land.
Anyway, your milage could certainly vary. You should check it out. Buy it. Go see them play, buy t-shirts and all that. Their bass player is a good fucking guy.