Peter Mavrik's Clubbin' Tip #13: 'Even if you cannot dance, get on the dance floor and move. Writhe, flail, do the bunny hop, or even sing at the top of your lungs. There is no wrong way to dance. And even if you don't like the song, get out there and move. It feels good. Trust.'
Webster defines 'shivaree' as 'a noisy mock serenade to a newly married couple.' What a twisted word. However, a uniquely styled trio of artists just so happens to have chosen Shivaree as their moniker. And wouldn't you know it, the name fits. Perfectly.
It's been nearly five years since Shivaree's debut album I Oughtta Give You A Shot In The Head For Making Me Live In This Dump came out on Capitol Records. If the name of that album doesn't make you pause, I don't know what will.
Who's Got Trouble? is their latest out on Zoë Records. Shivaree is made up of songbird Ambrosia Parsley, guitarist Duke McVinnie, and Danny McGough on keyboards. On this album, they are joined by a bevy of musicians, all weaving together to create music that is dark, strange, comic, and utterly absorbing.
During the first listen of this album, all the tracks sound intensely personal and serious. But that's far from the case. The vocals and music are so enchanting, you can miss the words all together and get caught up in their musical spells.
But it's the lyrics that are the best part. Ambrosia's tenor vocals sound somewhere between Bjork and Macy Gray ( no, I'm not kidding ) . She serves as the storyteller of every song, painting pictures all over the place with her vocals.
She sings about her bruised, but not broken heart in tracks like 'Mexican Boyfriend' and 'Little Black Mess', a very David Lynch sort of song. 'It All Got Black' is fantastic poetry, with a twangy guitar in the background and lyrical quips like 'Ice cream, sunshine, thrill rides, and a song. They can leave you doubled over, burned and broken if they take too long.'
My spotlight track is the last one, 'I Will Go Quietly' which reminds me of the last track on Sheryl Crow's I Shall Believe, not in sound but in feeling. It's a slow song, with a melancholy tune. It has my favorite lyric on the album 'But I'll stay screaming inside your sleep, I'll stamp out the moon and I'll shear all of your sheep. I will go quietly.' A perfect late-night track that just feels good.
With you in 4/4,
Peter Mavrik
peter@windycitymediagroup.com
