Fayetteville, Arkansas, is the home of many good things, and some nightmares. Of the latter, I'm thinking of current Democratic candidate for President, Hillary Clinton. Cripes, she makes me want to puke. Of the former, I'm thinking the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team, pretty good, and alumnus like Pat Summerall, among others. For something more interesting, you might want to add Shawn James and his Shapeshifters, truly an eclectic bunch of fellows. James and his Ozark Mountain hillbillies arrive with, if I count right, their fourth full length album, The Gospel According to Shawn James & The Shapeshifters.
The core starting points seems to be some twist of simple and early heavy rock, like something out of the mid-Seventies, and classic Southern rock. But there are more layers put upon this: bluegrass, folk, stoner, country and swamp music. Much of the twist in the mix comes from the inclusion of banjo and violin, not to mention some steel guitar and Dobro. On top of all this is James' gruff and grizzly vocals. All these things are dug deep in the music like an Arkansas tick on the hind end of a hound dog. Some things stood out for me. One is the way the violin sounds, not like country or bluegrass, but infused with a Jean-Luc Ponty electric timbre. But within Just Because, you get both electric wildness and country twang. Much of the same could be said for the banjo. It's seems there for accent, one slightly higher in the register, even subtle at times. A good example is found in the center of The Sandbox when it's paired with both violin and sharp guitar riffs. Strange Days was a curious, interesting, tune: the heavy and southern rock twist, fuzzed out, and moving at the pace of power metal. Finally, even with his grizzled, whiskey and roofing nails voice, Shawn James delivers with plenty of passion and soul.
Can you imagine if “Wiseblood” era Corrosion Of Conformity decided to play some Georgia Satellites covers with a Cajun country and western band in a New Orleans blues club? No? You’d better get on board quick then, cos Shawn James doesn’t care about the confines of your imagination because he’s already made this record and is on to the next thing, while you are scratching your head trying to rationalize this one. Put this album on. Kick off with “No Gods” and you are sucked in by the huge riff, but then there’s the violins, the banjos and only the band know what else, you’d say it was everything but the kitchen sink, except for the fact that the sink is probably there too. Frankly, it shouldn’t work. But my how it does. When the album’s aims all come together perfectly, as on “Like Father Like Son,” which possesses deeply personal lyrics about a fathers addiction and a glorious psychedelic section, this really is incredible. “Wild Man” is like inviting Rival Sons round for a hoedown by the campfire, and the dramatic ballad “Lake Of Fire” manages to be tender in a world of bluster, while “The Sandbox” even for this record takes you on a journey.
Polluted with Shawn’s gruff-growl and weighty lyrics, the record features a haunting fiddle and a banjo that’s plucked straight to the emotional core, churning it along to the swampy fuzz guitars and riding out the mismatched tempos. Like a nightmare from the annals of Dixie history transposing itself into an audible, nearly tangible cacophony, The Gospel According to Shawn James and the Shape Shifters is littered with hints of homage to a euphonic heritage from the Deep South providing listeners with nothing short of a groundbreaking experience in music. The Gospel According To Shawn James And The Shapeshifters is frequently bewildering, on occasions baffling, but is never less than brilliantly compelling. And if you are going to preach about something, it may as well be this as if you seek it out, you will find something quite unlike anything anyone else is attempting right now.
1. No Gods - 0:00
2. Like Father Like Son - 3:21
3. Lost - 7:59
4. Wild Man - 12:12
5. Strange Days - 15:45
6. Lake of Fire - 19:15
7. Just Because - 22:56
8. Back Down - 25:57
9. Lilith - 29:08
10. The Sandbox - 32:30
Support Shawn James & the Shapeshifters by purchasing the album here https://shawnjamessoul.bandcamp.com/a...
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