album

Six songs from this new New York-based trio and a nice find – The Shift’s 7th Direction is filled with chunky riffs, a water-tight rhythm section and melody.  Hard rock, the way it should be done.  The production is also key, keeping the band from sounding too overfilled to compensate for being a three-piece; guitar solos are fiery but tasteful.

Kicking off with “Kobra”, which doesn’t sound dissimilar to a harder Rush-styled track, the hypnotic riff sets the tone and keeps the song motoring; singer/guitarist John Shannon has a voice that makes the song work and his guitar work is flashy without being pompous.  “Dreams” is a fast and breezy number that shows the band’s ability to flesh out a song and keep it interesting (clocking in at over six minutes); “Consecrate” is drenched in what sounds like a 12-string foundation – it’s a slower, powerful and dramatic track – a standout.

Being that this is only 6 songs long, I don’t think it would be fair to give away all the details on each track.  Suffice it to say that this a very good introduction to a new band.  Worth the time and effort to find and listen to.  The Shift definitely could turn some heads.

RECOMMENDED

7th Direction will be released on April 14th,2015

http://shiftwithus.com/

About the Author

Rob Ross

Rob Ross has been, for good, bad or indifferent, involved in the music industry for over 30 years - first as guitarist/singer/songwriter with The Punch Line, then as freelance journalist, producer and manager to working for independent and major record labels. He resides in Staten Island, New York with his wife and cats; he works out a lot, reads voraciously, loves Big Star and his orange Gretsch. Doesn't that make him neat?

View All Articles