“Your Movement“
from the album The Shackeltons
2008
iTunes
Hailing from Chambersberg, PA, the Shackeltons features Mark Redding (vocals), Eric Fisake (guitar), Dan Schuchman (guitar), Justin McDaniels (bass) and Sean Hallock (drums). Their nervy post-punk-induced self-titled debut LP dropped on January 29 via the Loveless label.
Shake up a pinch of the Pixies and a dose of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club with stormy instrumentation, The Shakeltons arrives unrestrained. Using surprisingly clean drums, guitar, and bass, the ferocious five-piece create an introspective and strangely attractive tumult of sound. The stony, vaguely frightening “Tremble” boasts edgy riffs to hit home its musings on love’s pains and problems. Such raw sonic analysis continues on “The Breaks,” where drummer Hallock’s pinch-hitting delivery highlights the band’s D.C. punk-influenced layers. Through it all, Redding’s hypnotic vocals slice like a growly, uninhibited David Byrne, especially on “Your Movement.“ With Redding’s angsty outlook and the band’s steady backbeats, this four-minute nugget explodes in the middle for a frenzied tête-à-tête.
The Shakeltons understand that a musician’s lifestyle isn’t all glamorous. “A long time ago, we opened for Our Lady Peace,” guitarist Eric Fisake says. “We didn’t find out until we had arrived that the whole budget had been spent on this huge stage and to pay Our Lady Peace, so all we got was a bag of pretzels and a $25 gas card.” Hopefully, the band didn’t fight over who got the last pretzel.