MASS SHIVERS:
Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy: CD
Mass Shivers is a child of Chicago. And I’ve spent a fair amount of time in that metropolis throughout my youth, so once I sat and actually paid some attention to this CD, it was so obvious that its quirkiness and rhythm is totally WindyCity material. Think Shellac, Traluma, U.S. Maple, and a lot of bands that didn’t live in Chicago but pretty much did: Don Caballero, Paul Newman, etc. The angular schlock is there as are the kick ass drums that simultaneously drive the rhythm (which is a huge part of this album) and shoot you in the face. All three members of the band sing and when they do it together it’s kind of quirky and almost reminiscent of some Motown group. Along the way they also use a saxophone, an organ, and some extra percussion to get the job done. The problem is that at twenty-eight minutes and with some of the tracks basically being throwaways, there’s not a huge amount of substance from which to judge things. This could have easily just been an EP and come off much stronger. I guess, in the end, my endearing feelings for Chicago made me to decide that it wasn’t that bad. –Kurt Morris (Sickroom)