Strong grooves and dreamy guitar solos elevate a plethora of contemplative, softly hypnotic songs, as Montreal creative outfit The Shew Paaks delivers their second album to date, the anthemic and addictive Time Machine.
We begin with our title-track, beach-side vibes and characterful bass meeting with faultless drum-work from Dominik Salameh, all supporting breathy vocal harmonies both fast-paced and delicate intermittently. The style is shoe-gaze or surf-rock, indie to its core but with a welcomed twist of conceptual depth that intrigues and connects on a whole other level.
Franco-Canadian multi-instrumentalist Thomas Chollet, aka Tom G Stout, is the front-man and founder of The Shew Paaks, a songwriter whom explores a breadth of imaginative topics throughout the aptly-titled Time Machine.
Far from confined to a single style or mood, the project is quick to assert its musical diversity and emotion-fueled freedom of direction. Distant Land comes second, and presents a more melancholy, enchanting and almost sixties-esque instrumental embrace. Brilliant bass and contrastingly psychedelic guitars meet with more whispered vocals, setting the vibe well and creating a thought-provoking wash of escapism that will no doubt keep listeners coming back for more.
Through Fly the same strength of riff and atmospheric appeal stands tall, before the sharper Life Is Orange offers an ‘Americana meets The Doors with a dash of Beach Boys’ presence. And to juxtapose this mildly explosive turn, Together brings back a whispered sense of calm, and a refreshingly original long-form melody, for an intimate settling of energy.
That hint of The Doors returns but with a darker, almost humble grunge fuzz and weight, for Remembrance. As ever, the lyrics take something of a backseat to the overall presentation and mood, but the more closely you listen, and indeed with each revisit, a little more clarity of concept reaches out – and raises the effect of the music all the more so.
The Shew Paaks delivers a fine balance between the deeply personal and the broadly relatable, and that quality allows the twists and turns of Time Machine to really take the listener somewhere new.
Spirit Marathon has a rhythmic and melodic simplicity about it, which appeals for its indie rock nostalgia, but there’s also greater contemplation to the subject matter – a topic that intrigues, and a complete shift in creative output before the half-way mark to reinforce that artistic take. A personal favourite.
Next we get a quickly hypnotic guitar and vocal pairing, for the fast-paced brightness of Stronger Than That, before the ambient design and lower-toned vocals of Course of The Future brings a touch of funk and a dash of The Verve, for an unexpectedly epic ending to the journey of Time Machine.
Time Machine is the kind of project that really lifts you out of your lull. Get this collection in your headphones and start walking – just set the pace and go, keep going. See where the music takes you.
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