Self-proclaimed "Margate punk rock superstars" the Shakers have been shaking coccyges with its sludgy three-chord madness longer than most Mohawked kids have been out of diapers. Friday night at Lake Worth indie haven Propaganda, the blustering four-piece unleashed its latest concoction of full-throttle, stripped-down bombast titled Crabby Road. Maybe we've found another group of musicians who aren't so keen on taking the Beatles too seriously either.
Released on the Shakers' own label, Brown and Serve Records, it is the group's second full-length and sixth release overall since it began releasing records in 1995.
As the title suggests, the record is jam-packed with sardonic themes and two-minute ear-splitting doozies like ""Dead End Job" and
"Floriduh" that speak about middle-class disillusionment.
In the afterglow of Independence Day, New Times picked two songs from the 13-track disc that fit in quite nicely with the theme:
"American Dream"
The Shakers "American Dream" by Cheerstothis
What can be more American than disenchantment with one's life? Lead singer Pat Stahl goes on a bit of minitirade on this one that reminds us of Kerplunk!-era Green Day. Stahl howls about the failed U.S. economy and his dejection of the white-picket-fenced American dream.
"Booze"
The Shakers "Booze" by Cheerstothis
This one is a little less political and more bluntly deals with the hangover regret one often feels the day after partaking in one too many libations. "Woke up today kinda hazy, too many pints and Jamesons." Yeah, we've all been there, said some things we didn't mean or can't quite remember. And after a three-day weekend like this, the chances of this type of remorse increase threefold.
Crabby Road can be found at Radio- Active Records and online outlets like CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon.com.
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