REVIEW: Brian Shapiro Band — “All That We See” (LP)
The Brian Shapiro Band’s full-length debut All That We See is a dizzying delight of musical theatrics, an imaginative romp distinguished by its nervy individuality as much as top-flight musicianship. Despite the performative nature of this nine song collection, no one would ever mistake as spontaneous utterance, the freewheeling creativity powering these songs sparkles with skewed humor and unexpected compositional turns. Shapiro’s voice is in the center of it all, hitting on a wide gamut of emotions during the release, and surprising listeners equally in his capacity as a songwriter and singer. This is material steadfast in its refusal to conform to the status quo, yet recognizable — there’s never any sense Shapiro is attempting to remake the songwriting wheel.
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The band is a trio in an era when such configurations have made a comeback. He’s joined by bassist Ed Moman and drummer Benjamin Kutner-Duff, multi-instrumentalists in their own right, and they provide able accompaniment through each of the album’s nine recordings. The Philadelphia based threesome opens the album with the track “Three Things”, one-part dissonant rave up, another part energetic rocker striding with a low-wattage burn. Moman’s bass playing seizes on some tasty descending lines at an assortment of points throughout the song. It’s a crackling and lively first track.
His vocal delivery is artful and intelligently arranged but gives the impression of being all over the map. There are certain declamatory lines during each of the album’s songs possessing tone and phrasing reminiscent of Nick Cave, his lyrical content is far afield of the Aussie native’s writing, but their approaches echo each other’s in surprising ways. Those echoes reverberate throughout the second track “We’ll Take Them All” but its cockeyed jauntiness is what will linger longest with many listeners. Shapiro and his compatriots demonstrate, track after track, a willingness to take established song forms and shake them up into something idiosyncratic and stylistically singular. The irrepressible bounce in both the guitar work and percussion alike is memorable.
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“What’s Real” benefits a great deal from Shapiro’s willingness to share lead vocals with a second unidentified female vocalist. The traditional beauty of her voice acts as a leavening counterpoint to the aforementioned idiosyncrasies and works well within the context of this deliberate arrangement. It invokes a pensive, reflective mood without ever succumbing to melodrama. The woozy kiss-off “Thin Skin” skirts bluesy territory and you can hear the obvious relish Shapiro experiences delivering its wild and wooly vocal. It’s the singing equivalent to someone drunkenly wobbling down a hallway and bumping into the walls with every step.
Colin Jordan
