For a taste of something completely different, ‘Coat it All in Gold’ serves almost as the band’s deconstruction of a rock anthem. Each musical part is well established then takes us ‘round and ‘round as Kelly circles through the daily grind, the clutter of his mind and the band-aid solutions to the whole mess. “Gonna call a man I know, gonna coat it all in gold”. ‘Coat it All in Gold’ may be Shag’s most “Shag” song but who knows. It’s a bit of a dichotomy of simple notions meeting together to become something much much bigger than its parts. The band, tightly knit together by its rhythm, drummer Trevor Gauthier and bassist Travis Piecharka are the glue that keeps the experiment stuck.
On ‘Pile On’, Gauthier takes on lead vocals from behind the drums resulting in a radical addition of harder, punk-esque vocalizations. The use of a second lead vocalist from time to time makes the 11 tracks of Thursday Night Special even better than could have been imagined. There’s really no time to get bored listening to the album but changing up the overall vocal sound can make for a dynamic ride and Shag have produced a gem of a vehicle for it. ‘Bang a Drum’ being the very next track after ‘Pile On’ is a playful addition as Gauthier settles back into his position while still providing hearty backup vocals as a bit of a cheeky reminder that he’s still in the mix, banging his drum and giving it his all.
As the album moves toward its conclusion, the band slide a bit into meditation, like shoegazers who have something to work through but not at all as boring as that might sound. Despite the high amplitude of the sound, there’s something almost dreamy about the two tracks ‘Keep it Down’ and ‘Pavement’. The dream being that Shag somehow manages to have created something very much rooted in what came before them but entirely 2018. Edmonton should be all a-twitter about Thursday Night Special’s release. It’s straight up fantastic.
-- Val Christopher