A big perk of this job, if you even wanna call it a job, is that by virtue of doing it and staying active and attentive, you just find shit out. You discover new artists, stuff passes your desk that you like, love, or don’t know how you lived without up to that point. That’s not even going into the interpersonal connections we build here – we all share stuff we like with each other and I can safely speak for pretty much everyone on the team that we’ve all benefitted from each other in that way. It’s great.
To that point, we had a chance to premiere an awesome track from Shun, a cool, stoned-up heavy rock band from North Carolina who were sold to me as Cave In-like. If that weren’t enough, the band themselves add Alice In Chains and Torche to that FFO list, which got me talking like Krieger from Archer. What’s more is their specific sound also fills the void currently left open by Lo-Pan, who we haven’t heard from in a few years. It’s powerful, catchy, riffs-first rock that goes places and takes you with it.
Now, two albums in, both under Small Stone Records, this is the time to make a statement. A debut you can get away with some floundering, some exploration, a little underbake even, as long as the core is promising and entertaining. While I can’t speak to their debut album – this LP’s the first I’m hearing Shun in full – I can say that Dismantle shows them looking to make an impact. Starting with “Aviator”, one of the catchiest and most pronounced songs on the album, which has a floaty post-rock feel that isn’t on many other songs. The structure is simple, but not rudimentary, more like casually astute – a notion backed up by my pal JP who wrote our premiere article. I actually looped it a few times when it released some weeks ago. Once I saw the full album was graciously received by us and available to review, I knew I had to be the one.
It’s good for Shun that their album doesn’t just sound like “Aviator” over and over, though I probably wouldn’t have minded if it did since it’s great stuff. There’s a lot of variance on Dismantle – in fact, they remind, subtly, of two favorites, Elder and Caligula’s Horse, though more straightforward and somewhere between them. For example, “Blind Eye” is replete with whispy atmosphere, but has no problem tearing it up with a wailing solo in the middle and big vocals. Some cleaner post-rock delicateness sneaks in toward the end to accent a rousing closing and shift into “Aviator” with its bigger devotion to riffs and strong melody.
“Horses” is bold with nice guitar work seating at front, but never overpowering the vocals which are rooted center stage. It has a great, radio-ready chorus as well. That and “Drawing Names” could easily be sung by Stephen Brodsky – the Cave In feel is certainly there. A lot of Dismantle feels deceptively calm and flowing despite the rock foundation. “NRNS” is proof that the band can really kick the tempos up and fortify it all with robust bass and guitar, and “You’re The Sea” right after that digs into that same tone harder and heavier. The bass is ridiculous on this track.
Shun were sure to build their music with a lot of influences in mind, but still stir, mold, and twist it in such a way where it still comes off as their own. There’s a couple songs that don’t quite hit like I’m sure they were intended (“The Getaway” is a bit too repetitive to me, and “Through The Looking Glass” feels like it’s missing something to be great), but it goes out with a suitable bang with “Interstellar”, where the earthquake bass helps build awesome progressions that act as a neat bow to wrap the album up in.
Overall, Dismantle is solid work with a handful of flashes of brilliance throughout. It won’t break into my AOTY list, but they’ve ensured at least one of my eyes will be trained on them as they move further into their artistic career. It’s an easy recommend for those that love any of the aforementioned bands or just boldly heavy, lightly progressive rock as well. Shun‘s more than worth a couple listens, so do just that and see for yourself when this one drops.
Photo credit to Audrey Wilson
