Shangri-Las, “’65” (Red Bird, 1965)Second album from the ‘60s girl-group legends, more of that big beat cloaked in blurry clouds of mystery sound and wildly melodramatic hooks.Try 1/ 3, 1/6, 2/1, 2/2, 2/44/4/11
Shangri-Las, “Leader Of The Pack” (Red Bird, 1965)Hard-nosed girl group whose songs have been covered by everyone from the Dolls to Redd Kross to the Shop Assistants. A big, magical sound that’s somehow simultaneously lush and stark, with lots of weird little spaces hidden inside, and indelible pop melodies.1/11/11
Shannon And The Clams, “Sleep Talk” (1-2-3-4-60!, 2011)Garage-rock with pronounced girl-group echoes. The thing is, Shannon can really sing, in a thick, warm, smoky voice which, along with the sharp, well-articulated songwriting, gives this that elusive sense of being Classic, not just Retro. The contrast with the raw, grainy musicianship only accentuates this, giving it […]
Sheila E., “In Romance 1600” (Paisley Park, 1985)Lush, freaky, wildly extravagant high-concept funk in the mold of Prince’s more lysergic work from this era.Try A/1, A/35/5/12
Shimmering Stars, “Violent Hearts” (Almost Musique, 2011)More of that early-’60s-pop-melodism-plus-fuzzed-out-wall-of-guitar sound that’s going around, but the press kit sez these guys actually listen to the pre-Beatles oldies, and this has an ingenuous yearning that rings true, and (crucially) they can write songs. The slow ones in particular crest into a real nice roaring, bells-ringing rush.Try […]
Shonen Knife, “712” (Oglio, 2005; original release 1988)This album finds them at midpoint between the magical early primitive indie-noise-pop stuff and the higher-gloos ‘90s alterna-Ramones blasters to come. As a transitional effort, it’s a bit of a grab bag, but there are some all-time Knife classics here.Try 2, 1511/10/16
Shonen Knife, “Happy Hour” (Big Deal, 1998)The last great Shonen Knife record. With the Alternative Era and their Major-Label Contract fading into the distance, they rock like never before, with their brilliant, curiously graceful pop-sense burning bright again, but powered by a new bite and precision.Try 7, 11, 12, 1410/13/11
Shonen Knife, “Let’s Knife” (Virgin, 1992)This documents this beloved group at the height of their confidence and power, re-recording some of the greatest songs they wrote in their d.i.y. days of the mid-‘80s. The loss of a certain naïve, arresting singularity in the originals is compensated by a brightness and force that makes these versions […]
Shop Assistants, “Will Anything Happen?” (Overground, 1997; original release 1986)As much as or more than the Reid Bros., this is the template – girl groupish melodies filtered through rumbling/ringing drums, hazy/pretty vocals and chiming/roaring guitars – that launched Vivian Girls, Best Coast, Pains of. . .., and pretty much everything else on Slumberland over the […]
Shout Out Out Out Out, “Spanish Moss And Total Loss” (Normals Welcome, 2012)Good electro-dance stuff with a bit of a disco feel, some tropically tripped-out interludes, and cool vocodered vocals.Try 3, 68/23/12