Album Reviews
The guys that make up Shutdown sure have a sense of humor. They released their sophomore album, called ‘Few And Far Between’, back in 2000 and then kept everyone waiting for 25 years before wandering back on the scene with an EP where the opening track is called ‘Our Time’.
Back in the day Shutdown was tapped as a band to keep an eye out for. They turned quite a few heads with their two albums and a bunch of EPs and 7-inch singles. But then life happened and things kinda ground to a halt. They would still get together from to time to write songs, but never really did anything with them. Until now.
Clocking in at 16 minutes, ‘By Your Side’ packs six songs that blend in perfectly with the band’s older output. Things are every bit as energetic and if you didn’t know it, I doubt you’d be able to tell that it’s been more than two decades. It’s also still all about that PMA: opener ‘Our Time’ deals with seizing the moment and closing track ‘What Are You Thinking?’confronts and comes to terms with the challenges that came with bassist Dion DeNardo’s son being diagnosed with autism. In between those two cuts, you’ll find four more. All of them short, snappy, melodic and… well, pretty friggin’ good. Let’s hope they won’t keep us waiting until 2050 for more tunes.
By Your Side track listing:
- Our Time
- By Your Side
- Untouchable
- Is This The End
- Another Day
- What Are You Thinking
Lacking the talent to actually play in a band, Tom decided he would write about bands instead. Turns out his writing skills are mediocre at best as well.
