Shams - Please Yourself

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 14 / 8 / 2004

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Thee Shams are clearly, and it seems utterly unashamedly in love with both 70's southern rock and 60's garage rock. The latest signings to Fat Possum, a label that has been one of the most prominent in re-establishing the blues as a widespread concern rather than an elite ghetto for afficiandos only, display both a real energy and a real enthusiasm and knowledge for the classic styles they have emersed themselves in. It's such a shame, then, that this album lets itself down on so many levels. It all begins with the album cover. A woman poses topless but with the photo clumsily missing her head. Whilst the intention may be to have given the band a slightly dangerous image, the album’s title –printed above the photo – of 'Please Yourself' instantly reduces the image to mere pornography. Now you might be thinking that I’m trying to make some PC point, but the fact is that nudity is not new and whilst it is possible to make nudity artistic, no record sleeves have managed that feat. Perhaps this was an attempt to capture a 60's cover art style. I’m prepared to give the band the benefit of the doubt and say they aren’t automatically misogynists because of this sleeve, but it doesn’t stop the sleeve looking tacky and somewhat tasteless. It doesn’t give a good impression. The music is better. The band are one of many bands at the moment that mimic the music of the 60's and 70's, without adding much of today to it. It may be an exercise in nostalgia, it may be simply a demonstration of a lack of ideas or ambition, but the music is competent, the songs often quite catchy and the album sustains several listens. They tackle lots of styles, and manage with some skill to present them in such a way as they sound coherent and together. Compared to some more well known bands they stand up well. Certainly, they are nowhere near as derivative as Jet, they aren’t as one dimensional as Kings Of Leon and, though they lack the Hives charm and wit, they have far more than the Hives’ one musical idea. Unfortunately, the songs lack depth. The girls in the songs are nothing more than recreations of characters in songs from the 60's, not displaying any convincing emotions. The lyrics sound like any song from the 60's, which is fine except its 2004. There is nothing wrong with a band deciding it is more interested in the past than the present. Hey, it's not as if fans and critics only listen to bands from this decade, but it is disappointing when the music itself seems nothing more than a demonstration of an obsession with the music of the past, rather than a reflection of the band itself. I learned nothing about Thee Shams from this album beyond the fact that they like 60's music. This may be the naïve and slightly underwhelming debut from a potentially good band, or an enjoyable but one dimensional debut from a band that will never prevail when the music scene moves on past the garage rock/blues revival. I don’t quite know which, to be honest.

Track Listing:-

1 On My Mind
2 If You Gotta Go
3 Come Down Again
4 Love Me All the Time
5 Want You so Bad
6 Never Did Nothing
7 In the City
8 Can't Fight It
9 You Want It
10 She's Been Around
11 You're so Cold
12 Please Yourself

Label Links:-

https://www.youtube.com/user/elpossum
https://plus.google.com/+elpossum
http://fatpossum.com/
https://www.facebook.com/FatPossumRecords
https://twitter.com/FatPossum
https://www.instagram.com/fatpossum/

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