Bassist Shannon Shaw and guitar player Cody Blanchard formed Shannon and the Clams along with drummer Ian Amberson in the late 2000’s while attending art school in Oakland, California. Soon the trio were playing shows in and around the city and within a short period of time released their debut single on Weird Hug Records. In the years since the trio has switched drummers (Nate Mahan) and morphed into a quartet with the addition of retro keyboardist Will Sprott. Ten years in Shannon (also a member of queercore punk band Hunx And His Punx) and her accompanying Clams have come up with their most sophisticated and sonically ambitious album to date. The delightfully charming Onion, expertly produced by The Black Key’s Dan Auerbach, is chock-full of the same sunshine pop and rainbows that illuminated Auerbach’s 2017 masterwork Waiting On A Song. And in much the same way that his record embraced the analogue aesthetic of early 70’s Top 40 AM radio Shannon and the Clams unashamedly celebrate the vintage sounds of garage psych, surf and 60’s pop along with a Blondie-esque girl group vibe flavored with just a dash of The Beatles’ covers era as heard on their 1963 debut album Please Please Me. This fabulously infectious album, recorded in Nashville, Tennessee (all of the most interesting indie records are coming out of Nashville these days) will have listeners toe-tapping and head-bopping from the moment the platter drops. An absolute delight!
Rating: 9/10
Star Rating: 4.5/5
2018 Song Of The Day Club Album Review 9/52