The Shacks are a trio from New York consisting of singer-bassist Shannon Wise, guitarist-producer Max Shrager and drummer Ben Borchers. What immediately makes their sound distinctive on the band’s sophomore album, Haze, are Wise’s hypnotic vocals, which enter your ear like a secret being whispered amid a medley of whirling reverb and stacked overdubs. While the sleepy-sounding-singer aesthetic is not unpleasant, Wise has the tendency to come off as sounding slightly bored on a handful of tracks.
Indeed, The Shacks’ trippy-indie vibe is what some listeners will find appealing while simultaneously repelling others. The album’s title track, “Haze”, is like a psychedelic lullaby. Many of this album’s lyrics invoke dreamy imagery and a sense of repressed nostalgia. This feels like a record that was heavily influenced by classic blues-rock greats of the 1960s and 1970s– such as The Yardbirds, The Animals and Fleetwood Mac. Some tracks, like “Texas”, “Birds” and “My Name Is”, are slightly more upbeat and awake than the dreary ballads that make up most of the songs on Haze.
It becomes difficult to pin down what really sets The Shacks apart from the rest of the crowd once their sound is candidly analyzed. While their music provides a much more relaxed take on the psych-rock genre, it’s quite easy to become bored with it. The Shacks weren’t really trying to challenge any listeners with Haze and considering this is the group’s first full-length studio album, that might be a good thing. The album’s 13 tracks have an overall runtime of just 36 minutes and it feels even shorter than that. Hopefully, Haze will prepare the foundation that The Shacks build on top of with subsequent releases.
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