This past Saturday I was trying to play Super Dad in the Denver Airport and wound up missing a connection, thus stranding myself and 2-year-old son for an additional 3 hours. Insult to injury, I wound up having to pay $150 for the privilege of taking the later flight. Inwardly, the devastation I felt when I realized my mistake reminded me of an earlier, lonelier, more desperate time when I lost my return bus ticket (as in it fell out of my pocket or?) and found myself alone and penniless in the L.A. Greyhound Station. After much rejection at the hands of unsympathetic customer service specialists, I wound using the last $32 on my nearly maxed-out credit card and limped into home a defeated shell of my former bravado-infused self. Nothing makes you feel more sad inside than making stupid mistakes and finding yourself far from home, where no one cares.
Which brings me to the excellent new ep from Davis-based Shayna and The Bulldog. SATB have recently released a second full length album, the self-titled Shayna and The Bulldog. Here at PopHeartEtc, we are big fans of the record and will post on it soon. But today I want to dive in to The Youth We Knew, immersed in the sounds of young life coming apart, shattered and bruised, disillusioned and disheartened. Perfect music for being lost and alone. On these four fantastic songs, available for free download from bandcamp, the band swaps upbeat country folk rock for reverb-laden Americana that’s stiffer, heavier, and darker. The guitar tones, songwriting and musicianship all take a step forward and along with the new album, these left-over (!) songs demonstrate that SATB are one of the best unsigned bands in California, perhaps even in the whole country.
MP3: Shayna and The Bulldog — “Red Dress” download
MP3: Shayna and The Bulldog — “23” download
In the brooding “Red Dress,” out of a sense of deep resignation and even deeper conviction, singer/bassist Joel Daniel sings “I probably always should have known that it would come to this.” Y0u can’t help but agree with him, even if you don’t know the young lady in question. Of course, there’s a big difference between 21 and 31, and the story I began with is at least partially relevant. In the title, The Youth We Knew, SATB allude to it. We move on. We grow. Even break ups and f, er foul ups, don’t last forever.
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