Shot Heard Round the World - Ten Songs for Town and Country

  by Daniel Cressey

published: 6 / 5 / 2007

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Review

It would be foolish to expect a band who put out an eleven-track album with this title to do things the easy way. And Shot Heard Round the World do not. In places this is beautiful. In others it becomes conceited and over-complicated, and a tweeness that is otherwise complimentary becomes cloying. When they get it right on this set of 60's throwback indie-folk songs a glorious sunshine reflects off beautiful harmonics as the notes cascade down. The hand clapping and xylophone parts are handled deftly enough to be complimentary rather than annoying and the momentum carries you along. A soft-focus summer almost swims out of the speakers. Then, at key points, the band’s desire to change speed rapidly, flirt with other styles, and add in every instrument they own derails the nostalgia train. Opening song ‘Lentin’ promises great things and tracks such as the honestly titled move into moodier territory ‘Darker, Darker’ deliver on some of these promises. More convoluted and self-indulgent points such as ‘Mtn. Song’ and ‘Casseopeia’ do not. A less is more approach could have made this good album a great one.

Track Listing:-

1 Lentin
2 Mtn. Song (For M - - Howell)
3 Inward to Lexington
4 Harvest Breed
5 Casseopeia
6 Time the Covered Bridge
7 Dead on Night
8 Town & Country
9 Darker, Darker
10 The Torn Byrd
11 Evening Prayer