Shannon & The Clams has been around the block a couple of a times, and the newest addition to their repertoire, Year of The Spider, is a monument to their sound’s maturity. The band has released 6 full length projects and a myriad of standalone singles thus far, and this album is here to show they still have gas in the tank. Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys fame and his Nashville based Easy Eye Sound record label, the sound of this album is exactly what you would expect from its personnel. Shannon & The Clams’ signature 50’s pop sound mixed with a tinge of semi-modern alternative and punk is painted all over this project, but Auerbach’s Nashville twang gives this album a spice that you didn’t know you needed in your life.
The album starts off with a four-minute sample of every sound you’re about to hear in the next forty minutes with “Do I Wanna Stay”. Its slow burning melodic line floats alongside Shannon Shaw’s raspy vocals and an intoxicating country six-string, making for an insightful preview into the rest of the project. The next song, “All Of My Cryin’”, is the album’s successful push for a pop track, with the excellent production and Cody Blanchard’s falsetto making up all the ingredients for a chart hoping blast, and my favorite of the album. Shannon & The Clams make a leap for a rock theme with the next song “Midnight Wine”, and they stick the landing, with the energizing vocals balancing well with the band’s established grungy aesthetic. Following the energy of the last track, “I Need You Bad” dials back on the intensity a bit in favor of more earnest lyrics but with the underlying passion still present, resulting in a more interesting and individualized ballad than most alternative rock projects. For the title track, Shannon & The Clams return to their roots when their 50’s pop aesthetic was strangely, yet warningly, mixed with a garage punk chic for a sound that will undoubtedly make you want to explore the rest of their catalog. Following a return to the sound that made them so popular, the band starts to explore intricate, vivid lyricism in the next few tracks, starting with “In The Hills, In The Pines” and then followed by “Godstone” and “Snakes Crawl”. This change in direction can be attributed to the fact that most of the songs on this LP were written across the United States, as the band was not content with staying put in their hometown of Oakland, California during production. The three aforementioned songs in particular were written in Portland, Oregon, which becomes apparent when you listen, and the lyrics and carefully crafted harmonies transport you to a cabin next to a rainy lake on the West Coast. Following a journey through the Oregon pines, “Mary, Don’t Go” brings us back to Shannon & The Clams’ established sound, and Shaw’s unique vocals find an even more earnest feeling than the last ballad on the album. The next song “Leaves Falling Again” finally brings the vibes back into the Easy Eye Studio in Nashville for some textbook Auerbach flair mixed with some experimental sounds that make for an exhilarating listen. If you needed a little bit of a pick me up from this album’s generally drearier subject matter, “Flowers Will Return” has your back, with its lighter lyrics and dreamy acoustics that will no doubt put a smile on your face. Finally, for the closers of this hefty project, “Crawl” and “Vanishing”, the band rewards fans of the band with their signature sound once again, but with enough Auerbach and Nashville flavor to appeal to any listener who enjoys their alternative rock a little spicier.
Overall, if you are a Shannon & The Clams fan, there is plenty here for you. If you are a Dan Auerbach fan, there is plenty here for you. Even if you have never heard either of these artists, there is still enough poppy sounds and textbook alternative rock on this project for you. It can be argued that this can make the project feel disjointed, which at times it does. Though the sound can vary from track to track, the production and writing on this album is just as mature as you would expect from a decade long tenured band. Sometimes a bit of cheeky creative chaos is what an album needs for variety, and variety is absolutely what this album delivers.
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