When a band worms their way into your ears and doesn’t come out, you know they have the same effect on other people. So it goes with the Shacks, a band whose debut album Haze was released last month on Big Crown Records and was dubbed Rough Trade’s “Album of the Month” for April. The group had first garnered broader attention last year as their cover of Ray Davies’ “This Strange Effect” circulated in an Apple commercial promising a breezy, pop vibe from the ensemble. And earlier this year, NPR Music heralded them as one of their 2018 Slingshot (“exceptional up-and-coming”) artists.
Around the release of Haze, the group played two shows in New York, one in-store at Turntable Lab and a release show at Baby’s All Right on April 4th with Holy Hive (they will do an in-store at Rough Trade on Record Store Day). I went to the Baby’s show to immerse myself in the sonic haze molded around Shannon Wise’s wispy voice. They have delivered on the promise of the Apple video and then some with an album that creates a strong emotional response with just the lightest of touches.
Check out photos from their show below as well as a video for the psychedelic “Follow Me”.
