Shumai
Tastes Like Summer (CD)
 Remember when bands’ careers lasted a few 7”’s before they broke up? Remember when Matador Records was still an indie rock label? Remember when bands like Spent, Butterglory, and Guv’ner ruled the small world of lo-fi pop? You can actually smell the vinyl when this CD starts playing. There’s something that totally brings me back to 1996 when I hear this record. Perhaps, it’s the slightly fuzzy guitar coupled with the spindly New Zealand inspired lead guitar. Maybe it’s the under-recorded beauty of it all. Definitely not lo-fi, but it sits somewhere along the mid-fi continuum. The vocals alternate between boy and girl in that “love-rock” sort of way. The vocals that I speak of are not trained. They hit the right spot, yet, fall flat like how Aggi or Stephen Pastel can fall flat sometimes. Although, I speak of this band sounding like a bygone era of indie rock, it is quite refreshing. It is refreshing because many “indie” bands today have taken to more professionalism and slick production. There is something really special in the way that it all seems a bit off. And that is what makes indie rock so special.
As for the songs themselves, the music sounds serious but the words are not. There are a few minor notes thrown in, but don’t start crying your eyes out just yet. The lyrics concern themselves with stealing cable, crappy weddings, nerdy female ice cream vendors, and crappy guys wearing Ben Sherman shirts. I think there is a song about pottery, but I can’t make out all the words. Therein lies the charm of Shumai. Their greatest strength is singing about the ridiculous and the goofy with mad sincerity. Upon first listen, you might think these are just some fey and sappy love songs. However, the understated vocals are singing about $18 Rubber Pants or sub-par crocodile hunter Jeff Corwin. And somehow it is still quite touching.
So who would Shumai appeal to? The overall sound of Shumai is somewhere between Galaxie 500 and Dressy Bessy. Maybe Shumai would appeal to you if you were a fan of early Bettie Serveert minus the My So-Called Life lyrics. Perhaps, the old Merge Records’ band Spent would be a good point of reference. Spent had a lyrical and musical way about them similar to Shumai. One could say Gritty Kitty, only with more focus and less childish lyrics. These are just comparisons and points of reference. But Shumai has a way about them that is all their own. Seek out “Tastes Like Summer” and I dare you not to be moved when the singer states the she “can’t dance at your thousand dollar wedding.”
- review by KEVIN POWERS (1.1.05)
Total Gaylord Records
PO Box 230508
Astor Station
Boston, MA 02123
shumairocks@yahoo.com
www.mopedpress.com/shumai/
|
25 Random Reviews
3.16.05 The Rep
9.7.03 Shiny Around The Edges
1.10.05 David Neuer
6.15.04 Caleb Weintraub
9.18.04 The Sewing Circle
3.1.04 The Bunny Brains
8.13.04 The Capstan Shafts
1.30.06 The Elected
5.2.03 Jeff Hanson
3.18.05 Driver Of The Year
2.1.04 Frogger Phrampton
12.5.04 Jeff Richie
10.3.05 The Midget
7.21.04 L.A. Tool And Die
5.16.05 Letting Up Despite Great Faults
7.4.04 Breezy Porticos
6.30.03 Zack Orr
12.2.04 Pinkie
11.1.03 Xrayok
5.13.03 James Walsh
4.24.05 Dick Taut and the Ripcords
7.15.04 The Thermals
11.7.05 Jerry Fels
9.1.04 Paradigm9
3.28.05 Leo Bloom
|
