SHANNON AND THE CLAMS

A few weeks ago, Forever Young and I were whining like bitter, old men about current pop records. The gist of the conversation was that no one is writing good “sha la la la” pop songs anymore. That is, no one is writing good “sha la la la” pop songs anymore without totally fuzzing them out (i.e. that band Wavves ripped off, that band that ripped off Wavves, the dudes that ripped off those guys, etc.). Don’t get me wrong. I lub me some fuzz. I just also lub me some wholesome doo-wop tinged pop.

Enter Shannon and the Clams. Jessi Darlin hipped me to this Oakland, CA band only a few days after the aforementioned conversation, and they’ve been keeping my turntable a’spinning ever since. Simply put, they are golden. Shannon belts it like she thinks she’s Ronnie Spector or something, but be careful when listening… You may mistake Shannon’s sultry croon with that of Clams’ guitarist Cody Blanchard. Dude’s got some pipes (plays a mean guitar too). From what I can tell, they’ve released their first full-length, a 7-inch on Weird Hug Records, and now their latest offering, I Wanna Go Home, on 1-2-3-4-Go! Records.  I’ve only heard the newest LP, but I will totally vouch for it being one of the best releases of ’09. Those Danzig boys need to bring THIS BAND to Nashville. Maybe Ty Segall could pack them up in a suit case next time he comes through town. They only live a bridge away from him. C’mon, anything. Wanna see ’em. Gotta see ’em.