Spiders have made a great statement with this album.
Welcome Spiders from Sweden with their sophomore album 'Shake Electric'. This album will certainly take you back to the 1970s; a Rock album with both earthy, Grungy tones and smooth, retro guitar. Ann-Sofie Hoyles gives a strong vocal performance which is beautifully husky and charismatic. It would have been even stronger however, had she stretched the range and style a little more.
'Hard Times' is a good example of her venturing out of her comfort zone a little more, adding more emotion to the single slower song of the album. Openers 'Mad Dog' and 'Shake Electric' introduce some great thumping rhythms, keeping things punchy, but by the fourth track, 'Only Your Skin', the rhythm section feels a little repetitive. At times the album feels like one long song, albeit a fairly good one.
'Bleeding Heart' accentuates the prominent polyphonic texture of Spiders' music, guitarist John Hoyles and bassist Olle Griphammar not only diverging from one another but also going off the beaten track within their own parts too. Album closer 'War Of The World' gives a clear example of this in that they are playing sounds and tones off against each other.
Spiders have made a great statement with this album, bringing something new to the table. The song-writing seems understated though, with room for the same expression and exploration exhibited in the sound itself. Still, there are songs I'll return to for Hoyles's commanding vocals and the overall laid-back retro sound.
Sophie Brownlee
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