The Shakewells - Who the Hell Are...

 

(This is not the cover of their CD - they just don't have the pic on their site!)

After wanting to check them out for at least a year, I finally caught the Shakewells a couple of weeks ago when they played an amazing show with the Schizophonics, Lords of Altamont and Guitar Wolf. Every band was great that night and the Shakewells brand of trad 60's garage rock'n'roll stood out, if only for the fact that they did sound more traditional than the rest of the bands, which, natch, I have always dug. With Farfisa, reverbed/tremelo'd guitar, a dynamite rhythm section and hip vocals, they are a top notch combo and a excellent addition to the latest garage scene in Vegas.

Of course, when I realized that they had a CD out, I had to pick it up, as well and this sounds as good as they did live! Our buddy Joe recorded it last year - so about the time they first got together - and he did a great job of capturing their wild sounds!

Opening with Katie's spookyFarfisa and Mimmo's stabs of ferocious, reverbed'n'tremelo'd guitars, the band comes in for a real rocker in "Doormat" - a four chord romper driven by Turbo (drums) and Ruckus (bass) while Knuckles - who can actually sing, unlike all too many garage band singers - complains about his fate over it all. "Monster" is indeed a monstrous riff-rocker with a sing-along, call'n'answer chorus, Turbo sets the groove for the stompin' "Short Fuse", they create a Sonics-styled 60's-version-of-the-50's rocker in "Lean Mean Motor Scooter" (think the Lyres' "Soapy" but more blistering), and for their theme song, "Shakewell", they conjure up something similar with staccatto chords, fuzz guitar and plenty of danceable sass!

With a fuzz riff that is reminiscent of the Wailers' "Hang Up", "Witchcraft" is rockin', ominous fun, filled with dynamics and even more fuzz! More snotty fuzz-punk in "Ton Up (Long Gone)" with a nice break down filled with Ruckus' bass riffin', some more tremelo, keyboards and a strong punch back in, "Livin'" is more garage-punk with a shout-along chorus before closing with an ode to New Orleans in another singalong, "Voodoo Queen".

The songs are simple - this is garage rock'n'roll, after all - but catchy as hell and driven with a punk rock energy that these cats'n'kitten give to their other, more punk-oriented groups, and really superior playin'n'singin' all around. Super impressive! They should really resonate with the current cachet of garage combos.