THERE ARE times when The Shacks' music sounds like some long forgotten, but thankfully now resurrected, psychedelic pop gems from the mid-1960s, except its modern, made by two people aged under 22.
The Shacks - singer/bassist Shannon Wise (19 ) and guitarist/producer Max Shrager (21 ) - have been working together since their teens, joining forces in a studio in Queens, New York, in 2014. The fruits of their labour was heard on a larger scale this year with the release of their debut album Haze, via Big Crown Records.
The Shacks's music is rooted in the indie genre of dream-pop, but while some 1990s influences are detectable, it shot and refracted through a throughly 1960s filter. Drawing on the more pop side of psychedelia and the whimsical outer fringes of acid-rock, their songs are hazy (hence the album title ), blissed out, full of mellow vibes, accentuated by waltz times, ambient noises, and hushed vocals, while T Rex is reincarnated on 'Cryin'.
Lyrically, these are meditations on twenty-something yearnings for romantic escape with decidedly hippie overtones: "Everyone will be on the ground, at peace with everybody in the desert" ('Sand Song' ); "Let your love water me like a flower" ('Let Your Love' ). A strong pop and melodic sensibility, and the occasional knack for a good hook, is on display on Haze, making much of the hype around The Shacks justified. Certainly ones to watch.
The Shacks play the Róísín Dubh on Sunday May 27 at 8pm. Tickets are available from www.roisindubh.net; the Ticket Desk at OMG Zhivago, Shop Street; and The Róisín Dubh.
