[rating=9.00]
The fifth album from the Oakland based Shannon & the Clams continues their winning 60’s surf pop on acid style but takes on an extra emotional level as the artists grow and deal with tragedy.
The four-piece of Shannon Shaw (bass/vocals), Cody Blanchard (guitar/vocals), Nate Mahan (drums) and Will Sprott (keyboards), work through these thirteen short numbers with expertise as new producer Dan Auerbach allowed the band to open up and experiment with sound more than their past DIY leaning records. “The Boy” and “I’m Gonna Go Away” are both solid with warm rich bass leading the way as warbling keyboards, hand claps, eerie guitar fills and light drums color the tracks like party streamers.
After the openers, the group digs a bit deeper with two overarching themes that color the songwriting on this album. The first is the devastating 2016 Ghost Ship warehouse fire; the group was part of the Oakland art scene and looked back at how that world helped shape them. The second is expressed in the title Onion and deals with how people have so many layers that even those closest to you (and especially you yourself) can peel back a new one at any moment.
The three songs that are directly connected to 2016 tragedy approach it from various directions; “Strange Wind” is a passionate dark surf anthem about outcasts searching for a home and against all odds finding one while album closer “Don’t Close Your Eyes” focuses on Shaw’s passionate vocals in a beautifully warbling Shangri-La’s style that drips with emotion. The third song that ties directly into the Ghost Ship fire is “Backstreets” and it is the only misstep on the album as the band gets caught between their patented sounds and wanting to create an anthem for everyone to rally around. The song pauses before its chorus which goes all out for arena rock and fails to get there.
When Shaw and Blanchard (the group’s main songwriters) dig into their other theme they confidentially succeed in every effort. “I Never Wanted Love” is an instant highlight as it takes a 50’s doo-wop style and slaps a modern day love affair in the middle of ooh and aah’s, a shaking drum beat, gorgeous keyboards and the ever-present bouncing bass; a gem of a track on an album filled with them.
The title track is a hip-swinging garage rocking soul number that looks in the mirror and gets scared in gorgeous fashion complete with fuzzed up guitar solo while “Love Strike” again goes to that warped 60’s girl group sound in striking fashion. “Did You Love Me” is an organ-soaked ballad while “I Leave Again” pumps up the bands spaghetti western vibe into an awesome galloping workout.
Shannon & the Clams have their style patented (just check out the sweet and sour jangle of “If You Could Know”) and by delving deeper into raw emotion while directly facing tragedy and internal struggles Onion stands as the best full length yet from this intoxicating band.
