Singles Reviews
Shack
Oscar
Label: London/Laurel Records
CD1: Oscar/Streets Of Kenny (Acoustic)/Queen Matilda (Acoustic)
CD2: Oscar/Captain's Table (Acoustic)/Daniella (Acoustic)
With the latest offering from former “saviours of indie” Oasis failing
spectacularly to live up to expectations, the future of guitar music is starting to look bleak
once again. The mainstream press would tell us that the hopes now are bands like Travis, Embrace
and the new angst-rockers Terris. But are they?
Mick Head's Shack have been knocking around for years, but only surfaced from obscurity with
last years critically acclaimed HMS Fable. Despite being newcomers to success, they could
certainly teach the strutting pretenders a thing or two about songs.
Oscar is a storytelling song, not storytelling in the style of Ray Davies'
Waterloo Sunset or even Damon Albarn's Tracy Jacks. It's a storytelling song in
the style of your excitable mate down the pub. Who can play guitar. And has a way with killer
choruses.
The subject matter of a wheelchair bound man who wants to move to Amsterdam because he
thinks he can hire a prostitute from the Dutch government may be a little odd, but when you hear
it sung in Mick's friendly Scouse tones, it's instantly endearing. The guitars bound along like
an Andrex puppy, and the tune is so bright and breezy it nearly fools you into thinking it's
June rather than March. Catchy choruses are one of Shack's specialities, and this one is no
exception, hear it once and you're singing along for days.
It's in the B-sides, however, that you really get to hear Shack's charms. These acoustic
songs, taken from last years Mary Anne Hobbs sessions, show the effortless songwriting abilities
of Mick and John. Stripped down to the bare essentials, the soft flowing melodies shine out, and
it is these that Embrace, Travis et al, with all their orchestral bluster and over production
should be taking notice of. Pick of the bunch is Queen Matilda from the criminally
ignored Magical World Of The Strands album, a beautiful folky tale of a seaside
settlement.
The absolute best thing about Oscar, though, is the fact that it was never going to
be released. The Stereophonics way about it would have been to keep releasing songs from HMS
Fable until the public got sick of them. Oscar previously only existed live, and was
released because the fans wanted it.
Mick never seems to realise how much other people love his songs. Let's hope it stays that
way.
by Debbie Howard.