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Hooting and Howling Magazine review of Selfhood
After the high success of last year’s debut, ‘No Gods‘ , Sharks have been tearing around the world on headline tours, as well as those with the likes of Blink 182, Tribes and Pure Love, and amazingly, have still managed to find the time to get back into the studio and come up with a follow up, ‘Selfhood‘, all in a mere 13 months – no second album syndrome in sight.
The band’s – seemingly correct – decision to capture themselves at their raw, live show-selves by recording the majority of the album live, with minimal studio pretense, is obvious from the off, as opener ‘Selfhood’ immediately continues with the modern punk rock that ‘No Gods‘ started, but this time with more refined guitars, and just pure energy, and at barely 2 minutes, it’s a bona fide single from them already.
‘Your Bloody Wings‘ and ‘Portland‘, the first songs from the album to be played live, continue to highlight the outfit’s hook writing abilities. James Mattock’s melodic vocals and Andrew Bayliss’ thundering guitars 
work in complete harmony throughout them both, and though the sound doesn’t appear to have strayed to any distant realms so far, there’s development in the sense that they seem much stronger in their fusion of sound than on previous efforts – there’s even a few “la la la”‘s thrown in for good measure.
The alternative heavier punk sound of ‘Show Of Hands‘ hints a brief return to tracks such as ‘I Wont Taint‘ and ‘The More You Ask…‘. However, both have that stadium singalong refrain, a point at which Mattock’s vocals excel in their own unique right again, before bassist Carl Murrihy creates some solid backing for drummer Sam Lister to go wild – something the live recording appears to be useful for. ‘Gold‘ even suggests a hint of summer, complete with spoken word breakdowns, the entire album seems to carry an optimistic sound, much like the echoes of older tracks like ‘Patient Spider‘, and that’s something that appears to seperate Sharks from the rest of the punk rock wannabes, it’s got a soul that resonates from the stage to the studio without fault.
Lastly, a contrasting tone appears to be taken with ‘The Wild One‘. Again, Mattock’s vocals shine through, while the minimalistic guitars play a lullaby inducing riff, before the track ascends into a euphoric wall of noise and a stadium worthy atmosphere, then back to nothing but footsteps and a closing door – an album closer done by the book, and a brilliant one at that.
No musical breakthroughs occur on this album, Sharks haven’t suddenly gone techno, but they have taken all the great workings of ‘No Gods‘ – it’s by no means a part II – and utilised them effortlessly to create an incredible follow up, making stone set proof that change isn’t needed when you can make records this good.
8/10
Source: http://hootingandhowling.com/album-selfhood-sharks/
Album Review
Artist: Sharks
Title:Selfhood
Record Label: Rise Records
Release Date: 29th April 2013
Rating: 8.5/10
There is a notion that if a shark stops swimming it’ll die, and this ethos has been taken by the Leamington Spa band that bears the same name as the fearsome sea predator. The four piece from Warwickshire only put out their debut record, No Gods, in March 2012 and now a year and a month later we have their sophomore record, Selfhood. The aim with Sharks second output was to “focus on getting the best songs we can, out there as quickly as possible” as quoted by frontman James Matlock when pressed about the creation of his band’s new album. Mission accomplished then as Selfhood is a concise barrage of rootsy punk ‘n’ roll that bounds along at a blistering rate. The record itself is 11 tracks long and clocks in at around thirty minutes which once again proves that the quartet don’t muck about when it comes to turning around an album, and indeed the hasty nature bleeds into their sonic delivery.
We’ve said it before but, Sharks occupy that barren wasteland between The Smiths and The Clash. The boys from the Spa exude a punk rock clatter but also possess a pop spirit which gives their craft urgent hooks that imbed themselves in your lugholes. At times vocalist/guitarist James Matlock’s earthy vocal blurs the lines between Morrissey and Joe Strummer, the frontman happily straddling the poetic delivery of a punkrock warlord. Track ‘22’ illustrates this, the best with a reflective Matlock pondering “What is normal anyway, anyway, anyway/is it normal to be glad at all?” At this point the track is bare boned only for a bassline and a drum lick but then it soon erupts into an arms-aloft punk rock nugget almost like Strummer has rushed Morrissey off the stage to power the song into a more muscular territory.
Sharks reside in Leamington Spa but it seems they are never in their hometown due to the fact they are always touring with a broad spectrum of punk and rock bands, from Pure Love, The Gaslight Anthem and Four Year Strong to name a few. It’s this firebrand punk spirit that melds into Selfhood, albeit for two songs, the record sounds like four bros, sauntering into a practice room, plugging and blasting out a record, no messin’ at all. ‘Bloody Wings’ surges along like Brian Fallons gang with an upfront drum stomp provided by Sam Lister, while vigorous guitar stabs riffed out by Matlock and Andrew Bayliss fuel an incendiary delivery, not to mention Carl Murrihy’s bass rumbles that give ‘Bloody Wings’ a healthy bounce. ‘Gold’ is another succinct sucker punch of a track with the band careering full tilt into sweaty punk rock-dom. ‘Sundays Hand’ may chime in like a camp fire song but any kumbaya vibes are premature once the foursome snarl back to life with serrated riffs and thunderous drumming.
What’s telling with Selfhood is that although it’s labeled as punk, it is also anthemic without being disposable, plus the LP can be considered intimate and personal without losing any of the albums bite. Closing number ‘Wild One’ spotlights Sharks at their rawest, with the song commencing only to the sound of a lonesome riff and Matlock’s tender croon. “I’ve waded through an ocean of sand for a grain of doubt/and I’m certain my body’s such an anchor/when it’s wasted not being beside ya” to the sound of a shadowy surf guitar motif floating like flotsam and jetsam on a millpond before the choppy waves of honest to goodness rock ‘n’ roll brings the song to an explosive climax to then drift effortlessly to a close.
Let’s hope this group of Sharks never stops swimming because with music this honest and pure ceasing to move is not an option. At this rate we’ll be praising album number three in May 2014.
First review of Selfhood!
The More You Ignore Them, The Closer They Get…
April 18, 2013
SHARKS – SELFHOOD (RISE RECORDS, 2013)
So, it’s been a while since I wrote about the band who probably began my online writing presence – remember our brief flirtation with blog.web.co.uk or something? That was awful. Even so, writing about early SHARKS demos and shows around the midlands informed a lot of what I would go on to make and do at the end of my school years. And so, it’s with fond rose tinted glasses that I look upon this, the second full length release from Leamington Spa’s best export since Satanism. Pertinent indeed perhaps that Aleister Crowley believed he had been entrusted with informing humanity that we were entering the Aeon of Horus – an era accompanied by self-realization and self-actualization. Both of these attributes can be found here by the bucket load, and SELFHOOD is a fantastic title for a not-so-difficult second album.
First full length, NO GODS, appeared around this time last year, after months and months of demo-ing, recording, touring, promoting etc etc. Paint a vulgar picture indeed. Did it perhaps suffer from this relentless process? Certainly the strength of song writing had carried over from early ep’s and singles, but in part the strain could be heard. A completely different approach here has revealed wildly different results (although not in the tone of the record I hastily add). Much like their US compatriots, Title Fight, the announcement for this second album came almost out of nowhere – little build up, just the right amount of press exposure, and a natural recording process (live on tape) has done the band a world of good. Here, the guitars sound warmer, the vocals rich in the mix, and the rhythm section keeps the whole thing rolling along with a razor pace. These 11 songs were purportedly written just before going in to the studio, which is testament to the skill of Andrew Bayliss and James Mattock (not forgetting you Sam and Carl), as the melodies in part are as good as anything they’ve ever done.
The title track bursts in with the style of Fallen On Deaf Ears, but segways via acoustic strumming in to the slower, more introspective Your Bloody Wings – and from then on, the growth that has taken place shines through. The influences here are less ’77 and more ’82, the harsh buzz of earlier work replaced with a warm jangle. Previously released online, “Portland” finds the band at their most upbeat, and what I assume will close side A of the physical release “The More You Ask Me, The Less I’m Sure” (Morrissey title in waiting) is fantastic – rockabilly guitars and all. Later in the record, things slow further – the excellent “Pale” sounds like the soundtrack of a lost David Lynch film, and album closer “My Wild One” is about as close to ballad material as the band have ever touched on – lullaby guitars coupled with “my body’s such an anchor, when it’s wasted not being beside ya” make for a different experience to that Sharks have been throwing around for the last few years, but it works. Second albums are notoriously tough – hey, even Moz had Kill Uncle – but if anything, they offer room for self-exploration, self-realization (thanks Crowley) and indeed, selfhood. One can only imagine that these songs will sound better still in the close confines of next months UK headline tour – head out to a date (there’s a bunch), pick up a record and enjoy good British guitar music once again, because when it’s this endearing, you’d be a sucker to miss it.
Words to your mother – LM.
From: Everything You Touch Turns To Gold http://lityerses.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/the-more-you-ignore-them-the-closer-they-get/
“I’ve waded through, an ocean of sand, for a grain of doubt. I’m certain, my body is an anchor, when it’s wasted not being beside you”.
Make sure you head out and pick up the new Sharks album when it comes out later this month. I’ve had the chance to spend a lot of time around these guys and watch them grow over the last 3 years. Honestly speaking I could not be any prouder of them, in the same way I’d be proud of family. I’ve not seen them for little under a year, and they are sorely missed.
Rise Records had a lot of controversy from their fans when they signed Sharks. Personally speaking, I admire the guys at the label for the steps they’ve taken to diversify what they do. I do not recognise nor do I understand the people who were moaning about this. Music needs to be put out there in as many forms as possible, and signing a new sounding band to a label, doesn’t mean the label will stop what it’s doing. You’ve got to sit down and appreciate the sound of this band and consider what the lyrics are, and where the music has come from. It astonishes me every time. How can people so young make music so mature? I could go on for hours.
There are a lot of people in the music industry who will often drop names; people in bands who they’ll want to be seen to be associated with. With Sharks, I guess I’m guilty of the same thing, but it’s more in the way of ‘someone stood at the back of a room feeling an overwhelming sense of pride’. Especiallyfor people you’ll never not regard as brothers from other mothers.
Click this link to pre-order the album
Click this link to listen to ‘Portland’ from the new album
Click this link to listen to ‘Sundays Hand’ from the new album
