The Shins/ The Broken Family Band
at Water Rats, Thursday 1 April

by Kate Etteridge

Happy, happy days….summer finally arrived in London this week, perking up everyone’s spirits and getting everyone out of their houses. About 200 people joined me at The Water Rats, to see a band, which by reputation, deliver a shining example of what summer music should be, showcasing their craft at this intimate venue before their headlining slot at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire toward the end of April.

But first I shall let you all on in a little hidden secret – The Broken Family Band. Faring from my own neck of the woods (the rural plains of East Anglia) this John Peel endorsed band gave us a solid introduction into the world of country blues, peppered by constant comical interludes and a dry self-deprecating humour. Opening with a soft electric intro before the drums thumped their way in they exuded a rolling desert sound, a sound that belongs in the wilds of plains, in the open air, Steven Adam’s vocals ranging from rough crooning to J. Mascis-type Americana. Second song in, 12 Eyes of Evil, displayed this switch from hoarse rumbling to country monotone, the instruments taking the song down to near silence after the second verse, skimming lightly along, before coming back full force. By the next few songs, TBFB had got into full swing, the bass drum throbbing through the floor, guitar arrangements all bluesy power chords, each sentence sung rucking and rumbling along, shifting from pensive mood to crashing electrical storm. Unbeatably FUN, blending jangly pop and country, tripping along through the songs like light breezes, every song introduced by Adams with anecdotes, guitar solos echoing the melodies. You Broke My Fucking Heart was a delightful stab at comedy blues, delivered almost deadpan, clinging on to every note for effect, Adams contorting his entire mouth around each word. Songs like John Belushi illustrated their softer acoustic side, before the final songs completely rocked out, hamming up the vocals from hillbilly cuteness to growling sneering, crashing into the outro before slamming the set firmly shut for tonight.

The Shins came on through the swirling extended intro of Pressed In A Book, building up the mood, slowly and surely, the vocals reverberating around the room, into a solid slab of summer joy, pure bouncy delight, which carried through into new album track Kissing the Lipless. The main difference with The Shins as opposed to all of the other ‘The’ bands (Thrills, Stills, Stands et al) is the variety of styles and influences injected into the music. None of the songs are at the same pace or tempo, the element of unpredictability making the set that much more enjoyable and memorable. Tempo and rhythm a massive factor in the songs, Mine’s not a High Horse built this up with a train-in-motion style, almost verging on the military with its rolling drums and skittering cymbals, then heading into Girl Inform Me which displayed a more angular weirdness, the song circling around the lead vocals, guitar all staccato notes and the keyboards emitting high-ranges. Saint Simon, further into the set, illustrated the Americana/ Pavement comparisons that have come out in previous reviews, with a more simplistic structure, the chorus bursting out of the flow of the song, showing that these guys clearly like to perform full-on just as much as taking the time to fully realise a song. Watching The Shins is like being on a sonic roller-coaster, taking in totally different musical eras – from hints of 60s psychedelic Doors to 90s lo-fi American indie, but no time being derivative rip-of merchants. Girl on the Wing starts off as a fun little number before the keyboards smatter into a spacey melody (this space-rock tinkering also appears in later song Caring is Creepy), the bass riffing away in the spotlight, and then growing into a bigger harmonious atmospheric offering, whilst first encore song New Slang with its softly, softly approach trickles out in the same vein as a Simon and Garfunkel ballad, with all emotional feeling cleverly understated below the charming and glossy surface. Finishing on Gone for Good hits back with Shins-style country blues, the guitar solo twisting and turning until the last note had rung out and the room dispersed slowly, all smiling in the knowledge that this band are bound for bigger things.

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