The Shants live at Boo Boo Records – Thursday August 26th @ 5:30pm
The Shants’ slow-burning sound originates from the rural backgrounds of its members: from South Louisiana delta pines, to the brusk plains of Minnesota to the rolling hills of the Central California Coast.
“Baton Rouge” by the Shants
PRESS
“Undiscovered Band of the Month: The Shants. Hailing from Oakland, California, The Shants specialize in a blend of Southern folk and country, embossed with the sad sounds of the pedal steel guitar” – FILTER Magazine
“Rustic and subdued, like the scant, heavily muted light that finds its way to the floor of a redwood grove” – No Depression / Hyperbolium
“The Shants combine mellow grooves with a sexy twang. The vocals will give you a goofy grin. The same goofy grin you get after you…….well, you know. – SF Chronicle Music Blog, Off The Record
“After wood-shedding in Chico, Davis, Nevada City, and other Northern California, The Shants bring their down-tempo Americana to a hometown gig at Oakland’s New Parish (579 18th St., Oakland). Their EP, recorded in a cabin near the Russian River, has the subdued feel of the area’s heavily wooded forests. Their moody combination of vocals, guitar, bass, drums, and dripping pedal steel conjures the permanent dusk of a redwood grove, and vocalist Skip Allums manages to sound both dissipated and agitated at the same time. You can pick up their ragged love letter, “Oh, Oakland,” on iTunes and practice not choking up at the tearful mention of the late, lamented Parkway Theater.” – East Bay Express
“Musically The Shants are the equivalent of dinner with friends rather than dining out. It isn’t flashy and slick but it is almost infinitely more enjoyable. There is very little spectacle to their music, which instead will nest itself quite happily in your head for hours after a few spins, bringing with it a sense of earthy, warm familiarity.” – The Wolf Magazine, UK
“The resulting sound is earthy yet atmospheric, sweetly rough-hewn and occasionally bitter. “I’m a Ghost” manages to be both ghostly and creaky—like a poltergeist moving chairs around a haunted house. There are some livelier numbers (“Oh, Oakland”), but it’s the quieter, sadder songs such as “Lift Up Your Eyes” that set the band apart. ” – Sacramento News & Review
“The Shants recorded the Russian River Songs EP near the Russian River holed up in a cabin in the redwoods. The complete EP was mainly recorded live and in only two takes, what adds a nice campfire atmosphere to the tracks. And saying campfire atmosphere, it is just the right word to express all the other aspects of Russian River Songs. That is: the overall dark character of the music with the haunting but very mellow lap steel melodies, the cozy acoustic guitar play accompanied with chilled e-guitar vibes and cradling bass lines together with decent sounds from the rhythm section on drums – I don’t need to say that this is pushed to the limit every time the harmonica kicks in. The lyrics are perfect to forget about your surroundings and to hum or sing along with them with closed eyes thinking of a nice night with your friends hanging out around some crackling campfire with some tasty beers or beverages of your choice.” – Common Folk Meadow
“The Shants & my iPod have been carrying on a torrid little dalliance for a few days now. Kind of languid, kind of sexy. The clear signature here is the aforementioned pedal steel, wielded craftily by Samuel Tokheim. Samuel plays with finesse, with wit, & with a poetic sense…” – Such A Clatter
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