Shady Lane
Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia | INDIE
Music
Press
Built Guilt is the second album from Rice Is Nice-signed Sydney solo-project-turned-band Shady Lane, and it is quite a leap from the project’s largely delicate 2009 debut Here We Go Down the Black Hole. From the get go, Opener sees nods to psychedelica and even hints at a Pavement influence with its space and texture underneath a somewhat aggressive electric indie guitar line. Second single Convenient Face Hinge recalls the finer moments from Super Furry Animals and is quite the catchy number with its funk-ay bass line and fun lyrics.
The album is as clever as it is musically ranging, from the hilariously vulgar opening line of Gwimmnoddles – “When our dicks go soft/How will we get off?” – and then within the same song the questioning becomes more hopeless with lines like, “Is It mad to think of dying when you can’t get out of bed?” There really are no dull moments when gems such as the electronic What Future? and the weird noise-driven pop of Mother Mountain Rabbit are thrown into the mix. Then the album just offers straight-up great pop songs like the slow building familiarities of Starfish and the happy space electro-pop of album closer Happy Without Controls.
Built Guilt is a really interesting psych-pop sounding album that lures you in from first listen and then forces you to come back for more. The tracks are hooky and will no doubt propel Shady Lane into one of Australia’s better alternative pop exports, just like label-mates Seekae and the similar sounding Richard In Your Mind. - TheMusic.com.au
Shady Lane is the musical brainchild of Jordy Lane… at least it was. Built Guilt, finds the Sydney-sider expanding his solo moniker into a fully-fledged band, with the addition of Pete Avard (drums), Sarah Jullienne (synth) and most notably, Conrad Richters on bass; on loan from label-mates Richard In Your Mind.
The result is more of a team effort, with a graceful pendulum swing between hazy rock and their more experimental, electronically-tinged excursions.
Rather than sounding like a young band flip-flopping between genres however, these stylistic migrations are handled with confidence, experience and – in ‘Gwimnoddles’’ references to ‘soft dicks’ – a good dash of humour.
More importantly, the gauzy , psychedelic touches don’t dominate, but enhance the flavour of Shady Lane’s pop sensibilities. The likes of ‘Eraser Brain’ and ‘Fluff n Stuff’ demonstrate a taste for the eccentric without forgoing the accessibility needed for listeners’ to join in the fun. - Tone Deaf
Discography
2009 - Here We Go Down The Rabbit Hole - Rice Is Nice (Aus)
2012 - Built Guilt - Rice Is Nice (AUS)
April 2013 - TBC Split 7" to be released in UK/JAP/AUS/USA.
Photos
Bio
They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but how do you handle encounters with creatures so wicked they drift into your dreams and haunt your being? Sucker punch them from the inside, and write your next album for the nasty beasts, dedicating each and every note, lyric, strum and beat to their extinction. This how Sydney four piece, Shady Lane, have tackled terror in their second album, Built Guilt, a wistful but wise big brother to 2009’s Here We Go, Down the Black Hole.
Built Guilt’s ingredients include healthy levels of cynicism and a kitschy quirk, its beautifully crafted pop, twisted just slightly. The album pairs analogue synth and radiant vocals that float dreamily through your ears with the rawness of live drums and louder, prouder and playful guitars. The result punches you in the head, heart and gut with the power of a heavyweight yet soothes and nourishes, as cathartic to experience as it was to create. From the playful pop hooks on ‘Convenient Face Hinge’ to the soaring textures of ‘Dumb Hope’, the movement from lilting simplicity to guitar pedals parties to synth experiments is as mind-bending as it is uplifting.
Finding as much joy in recording as writing, Shady Lane bounced between the coziness of a friend’s home in the Blue Mountains, and the urban womb of a Sydney studio. Using equipment like a $2 microphone made out of a speaker cone, a Korg MS-20 synthesiser, a 70s Farfisa Organ, and recording tracks as a live band to extract the organic lifespirit of the sound, Built Guilt is an intangible beauty. With songs that embody the electricity, fear, love and curiosity of existence, Built Guilt reflects how your enemies, like your friends, can elicit some amazing and powerful imagination.
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