It’s not long into this debut Americana release before the raspy vocals of frontman Shimmy, AKA Brian Paddock, chime in and you’re drawn into the world of Shimmy & the Burns. The band welcomes listeners into this world with “34,” a tune written on the eve of turning 34 years old. Paddock ends the track with a line that’s sure to stick with you. “I’d rather go swimmin’ with my pocket all full of rocks than spend another night with you,” he sings.
The album takes a rock ‘n’ roll turn with its next track, “Way I Am.” This is one of the release’s highest points and happens to be a personal favorite as well. A staticy guitar jangle leads the tune, giving it an old-timey feel. They’re an Americana band at the core, but they also have strong country inclinations; there’s an element of southern slang woven into just about every track.
All in all, these are simple, somber songs that get straight to the point. Paddock never tiptoes around a subject, and that’s what makes this album feel so accessible. He delves into his own experiences and emotions for this release, and in return listeners are privileged with some mighty powerful tracks. There’s honesty at every corner, from when he sings of a guy losing his best friend in the war in “Dead Soldiers,” to when he sings about how his lyrics sometimes scare the hell out of his mother in “Three Stars.” Paddock explains the honesty in the album saying, “It was not our intent for the album to have a theme, but in hindsight most of the tracks we picked center around past mistakes, regret, and taking ownership of those problems.”
In fact, the lyrics are some of the best parts of these songs. “Fifty-Two Miles” is a prime example. Paddock sings, “So I guess the road will be my home for now – at least until I find a way to piss her off somehow.”
The album turns another corner mid-way through, when they slows it down quite a bit for “Whiskey Bird.” Sarrenna Mcnulty of local Americana band Guy Marshall provides backing vocals here, making for a heck of a collaboration.
In fact, Paddock and Mcnulty make such a powerful vocal duo that it makes you begin to wish for more vocal harmonies throughout the album. Paddock has a voice well suited for backing vocals, and these songs would profit well from some more of them.
“When we were deciding what songs to put on the record we tried to come up with a group that would be sonically varied but still cohesive,” Paddock explained. The band’s instrumentation is delicate and subtle at times, while strong and robust at others, pairing well with whatever’s going on in the lyrics. Never do the songs get too energetic though; the closest they get are some mid-tempo arrangements such as “Fifty-Two Miles” and “Way I Am.” It would be interesting to see what kind of album they could create if they threw a couple more upbeat tracks in the mix on the next go around.
This four-piece band has created a solid album from start to finish, but pay special attention to “Way I Am,” “Three Stars,” and “Fifty-Two Miles.” Give the Shimmy & the Burns’ self-titled debut release a spin via Spotify or iTunes, and if you find yourself at Raven Records or the Disc Exchange in town, pick yourself up a physical copy.
