Here we have ‘Strange Tides’ from NZ garage pop outfit Shakes – the first we’ve heard from them since we premiered their excellent debut EP Tambourine Girls earlier in the year.
It grabs you right from the start with a sharp, spiky intro, before settling into a steady groove of phased vocal harmonies and trundling basslines.
‘Strange Tides’ was apparently created using a “cheap toy piano”, but it certainly sounds anything but cheap – possibly due to being mixed by Steven Schram (San Cisco, Paul Kelly) and mastered by Brian Lucey (The Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys, The Shins).
Not wasting any time at all, Shakes have another EP on the cards for later this year, and will hopefully make their way over from the North Island to play a gig or two for us as well.
