Shadeland – No Time (2023)
With a career that spans over 20 years, it is needless to say that Shadeland has a sophisticated sound rocking the town. Bold and powerful but with a raw tinge flowing through the tracks, Shadeland catches you in their indie melody while making your heart ache with the poetic lyricism. Slivering somewhere between U2 and The Strokes there is a roughness to Shadeland and a thought of indie-rock sentimentality. Yet, Shadeland has a unique way of seemingly keeping to one genre but traipsing across the board within songs. The latest addition to their discography is the song ‘No Time’.
Following the well-received track ‘Role-Playing’ in 2022, ‘No Time’ is Shadeland’s first release in 2023. Unlike ‘Role-Playing’ which had a strong leaning toward indie rock with a distortion in the arrangement, ‘No Time’ is filled with a gritty grunge sound. As I mentioned, the US-based trio have a means of tinging one genre with others in single songs; however, the new song is a brash force of hard rock meets alt-rock and metal.
Heavier than previous work, ‘No Time’ hits you in the gut with a powerful sonic force. It slithers through your ear, rattles about your brain and grasps your lungs – all through the beauty of the guitar-driven arrangement. Pounding drums meet dynamic guitar riffs offering prominence to each instrument and still coming together as a hard-hitting whole. The thing is, while the melody is rich and bold, the lead vocals seem to add something extra to the track.
In previous material, lead vocalist Allen Keel tapped into his inner U2 showing similarities to Bono’s iconic gruffness. In ‘No Time’, he stands out as a unique individual presenting a gruffer gruff than Bono but with a smooth warmth exuding through the poetic lyricism. Rich and tender but brash and growling, Keel wraps you in a comfortable sonic blanket.
In ‘No Time’, Shadeland sing that “they don’t have time for this”. Based on this song, I am certain we all have time for them.
For more from Shadeland, check out their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
