Hipshakes CD-r 2nd Album review (by Chief Sosati AKA Mr STiX)
I originally envisioned to do this as a track by track review but then things got in the way (beer, 4 track experiments, skating, sun, rugby), so I'm gonna have to just give you the highlights and overview of this here CD-R(ock). As I listened through the CD with my reviewers ear, I tried to keep the bias at bay, but after track 5 I was sucked into a-Hipshakes-Bakewell-Tart, with Andrew and Dan's sugar'n'spice, pop-top and all three's rockin' rhythm pastry!
The first track that really caught my ear and took it from foot tapping to thigh bashing was "Wasted Life", many things can be attributed to wasting your life mainly ex-girlfriends, managers, landlords, this is the song to envision them and scream. Baited by the guitar slide intro, hooked by the chorus and kicked by the beat. One of many to follow in the catchy as fuck department.
What I like most about this 2nd album is the sense of song writing maturity that inevitably comes through in a band that has done as much as they have in a short time, this is exemplified in "Days Of Destiny", which starts off with an acoustic intro which gets you thinkin' here comes The Art**c M*nk*ys ballad until Brucee Baby's fill comes in to crush your twee bollox. "Searchin" also gives rise to a cool breakdown without too much studio wank knob tweaking.
In the middle of the record is a song which has the working title "???????", which I'm sure means they not sure what it is and not some poncey Dalstonesque electro title, on this track all I can say is, take a breath, go up on't moors and psyche out.
A real good sign of a great band is after having seen them you have some of their tunes buzzing round your head the next day and "Not Like I've Had Before" is a perfect example, I dare you not to sing along to "oh yea " .."alright" secondtime round. If that wasn’t enough, they hit you with "T-shirt" straight after, which starts with a floortom Boom! Boom! straight into this rock pop Bakewell gem, sing it FUCKERSSS!!!! Apparently it's about something as mundane as a band shirt. "Bruce’s Party Song" is exactly like only one's mind can conjure up (this goes to people who have met The Man, The Myth, The Legend), Gloria chords, but who cares, go party with Bruce as it builds and crashes like any good Bruce drinkin' session!
The album ends as you would after a good rock'n'roll cricket game, take bat in hand and head off into the moors once again with "Rovin Down The River", writing credits go to the ginger on the stix, beast man Bruce, on this one.
So there you have it, an insight into the life of 3 young scamps, as they try to get by in Sheffield, where I'm sure frustration is a plenty, as their Sheffield peers try sandwich them sonically into a Human League, Pulp and Art*c M*nk*ys mash up, as that's the only way those knobs can make any sense out of the strange garage pop pissing in their ears.
AND COME SEE THEM TOMORROW/TONITE!!!
LAST SHOW BEFORE ANDREW LEAVES TO GOTO THE YOO-ESS-AYE
with Lovvers and The Strange Boys at BARDENS BAR
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