The Street & Babe Shadow - The Street & Babe Shadow
The Street & Babe Shadow
The Street & Babe Shadow
It’s really too bad that the Street & Babe Shadow, a band best-known for featuring Hot Hot Heat guitarist Luke Paquin, decided to lead off their self-titled debut with the track “Ashes To Ashes.” It’s a slightly morose little number that treads the dark psyche of goth-country, and it’s a dreadful opener (although, had it been somewhere near the end of the album, it could have worked). Luckily, things pick up soon after with The Street & Babe Shadow finding their stride on “Looks Like Rain” and “Your Baby,” which combine the best elements of rockers like Tom Petty and the trendier stylings of indie-rock acts like Broken Social Scene and the Constantines. But the biggest difference between Paquin’s posse and the aforementioned bands is the soul and swagger in these songs. Bassist Jimmy Sweet spent his youth traveling with a church choir, and that seems to have rubbed off quite a bit. More evident is Paquin and pedal-steel player Dan Horne’s love of soul and traditional country. Paquin’s girlfriend, actress Paige Stark, helps out with vocals on some tracks, creating some pretty tender duos, but where the Street & Babe Shadow really shine is when they let loose and embrace that countrified swagger of theirs.
MRG http://www.mrgrecordings.com
