shiny, dark & beautiful-_Thee More Shallows

THEE MORE SHALLOWS--live at The EchoWednesday, May 9, 2007reviewer: anonymous / Musician Reviews (coming soon)The Echo shook and shuttered with sardonic truth-sayers THEE MORE SHALLOWS last Wednesday. This show was just a brief stop on their US tour, after a four day turn around from their European tour. They opened with a classic from a previous album, "Freshman Thesis", which builds to luscious boominess and then trails off with beautifully dark and haunting violins, unexpectedly. Their dynamics are mesmerizing, surprising us with what they do next. I love how this band is unafraid of silence, delicateness, space and crescendos, which they use often and well. The tension in this music matches our times. It sounds of war, bittersweet frustration, dark humor and ultimately compassion—which shines through in their awareness of the details. The songs are stories, anthems even, and fantastic snapshots, spun from reality, yet highly graphic. The electronic beats they play with are exacting, thick and fun. Their new record: "Book of Bad Breaks" is a true headphone album, begging not to be interrupted. I'm especially fond of "Night at the Knight School", and "Oh Yes, Another Mother", the later being a pretty dark and haunting story of murder—not what it appears to be on first listen. The live version of "Oh Yes, Another Mother" was a blow-out with live double drummers, mid-song instrument changes and an extended instrumental that was a polyrhythmic spree! "White Mask" builds heavily, and ends with an innocent laugh on the record. There were lots of cries for 'one more' but they were shewed off the stage to make way for the next band...oh well. One thing the band is not—shallow.Author: anonymous--musician reviews (coming soon)New ablum: Book of Bad BreaksAnticon records, 2007