Shirese – Three Going On Four

“Since 2015 Shirese has done things their way. And precisely because of that calling “Three Going On Four” their debut LP would be a bit of a misnomer. While it is their first appearance on vinyl the band has been prolific to say the least; quietly self-releasing 19 micro-edition cassettes and CDr’s, a great many of them full-lengths. Despite the small press sizes the quality of their work has been steadily growing (and the bar was set pretty high from the get-go!), so it seemed only natural to make the move to the big leagues for release 20. Shirese is the brainchild of Matt Paolillo and Jack Gumkowski. The band has undergone a few changes over the years but has truly meshed in recent times with Bill Davidge, Nicholas Serrambana, Logan Carr and Seany Nuelle in the lineup. In the early days the band took heavy influence from Columbus, Ohio’s sub-underground rock scene, with Jim Shepard as a leading inspiration. While this influence is still present, it is much more refined and absorbed; those with a close ear will pick up nods to the likes of Shep, Ron House and Tommy Jay, though they won’t come right out and jump at you.Likewise, Shirese takes cues from their New Haven contemporaries, but their brand of psychedelia is more directly inspired by the late 60s garage bands who moved into unchartered waters. Far more dedicated to the song than, say, Headroom, but with plenty of eerie and swirling lysergic moments nonetheless. The band doesn’t shy away from the spoken word either, with word-salad-stream-of-conscious poetics given as much real estate as catchy melodies. Shirese also allow their most experimental tendencies to roam free while never losing sight of what they are; a rock band. Out of phase tape manipulation and harsh noise find their places on the record, and why wouldn’t they, given Paolillo and Nuelle’s heavy roots in that arena. But somehow they always find their way back to the true core of Shirese – hard rocking on their own goddamn terms.”

Label: C/Site Recordings – C/S035

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album

Country: US

Released: 2021

VG+/VG+