Written
by Lance Wright, posted by blog admin
Shofar
made some waves in the indie scene with their initial two studio outings in the
early 2000’s but fell silent as a recording outfit for a number of years. Their
return to the fray finds the music world obviously forever changed, but Shofar
has evolved as well and there’s a deeper maturity to these new recordings than
we heard on their admittedly fine older material. Songwriter and lead singer
Larry Hagner inhabits these songs with a strong presence, but he’s backed with
some equally fine secondary vocals that help enhance both the accessibility and
appeal of the songwriting and performances. They carry on in the fine rock
tradition that’s part of the Minneapolis area’s history with a great mix of the
classic and modern marking their warm sound. Melody plays an underrated role,
as well, in their winning presentation, but repeated listens to this
self-titled EP emphasizes how important it is to satisfying the band’s
ambitions.
Passion
is never in short supply. The desperation and claustrophobia coloring much of “Running”
alternates with moments of uneasy calm, but there’s a sense pervading the music
that the singer is a survivor. It’s a brave number, as well, thanks to its
potential to overwhelm, but Hagner and his band mates orchestrate the changes
with full knowledge of the song’s power and play it accordingly. “Powerman” is
a tune where the power dynamics of the opener are radically de-emphasized, but the
restless jangle and forward motion of the tune makes a big impact on listeners.
Hagner’s voice is joined by his band mates at key points to round off a truly
winning number. The third track “Shades of Grey” is cut from a similar musical
mold with some extra guitar punch and has the sort of songwriting intelligence
longtime fans of Shofar will be used to and newcomers will find so appealing
about the band’s music.
“Hands
Down” is another high point on the EP bringing our a more rambunctious facet of
the band’s character while still sounding recognizably like Shofar. Hagner’s
particularly memorable on this tune with a singing performance completely
dominating the track. There’s a sharp shift in subject matter and delivery with
the EP’s last two songs. The first, “Countdown”, has a rather dire outlook that
the musical arrangement makes a little more palatable while the concluding
number on the EP, “The Coming”, isn’t far removed from the band’s material from
the first go around in the century’s dawning decade. Shofar stands apart for a
number of reasons – the sheer creativity and exuberance coming through on every
performance, the sharply tuned lyrical content, and the obvious attention to
vocal excellence separate them from the pack and make them one of the more
memorable acts working in the indie scene today.
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