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shalloboi- down to sleep
released on endless december early august 2008
From the first second upon playing you get locked into this dark brooding ambience. Similar to My Bloody Valentine and even Cocteau Twins, the group and ideas have really transformed from their early days. Their promo landed in my hands and I was quite taken back by all of it. Listening to it after a couple times, my curiosity and words finally flowed. I had early on thought of a lot of the sounds had been sampled when in fact this is all about analog means. With Cello, real Drums, toy xylophone, glockenspiel and guitar along with deep vocals the group has a polished sound. After viewing their video it became more apparent who and what these artists are doing. This release is somber and melts away becoming more than just static background noise. It filters into your body slowly like molasses leaving a very thick taste in your mouth. Reviewed by Radionic
I am always amazed by duos that can create massive sounds with just two instruments. Examples that come to mind are The Black Key's and the full on roar of Daniel Auerbach or the room shaking sound of Matt & Kim or The Dodos. If I had just one word to describe the sound of Shalloboi it would be reverb; room filling, ever-growing and growling reverb. This Chicago duo, consisting of Tyler Ritter and Stefanie Goodwin, has figured out a way to capture their impressive sound without too much processing. Recorded through utilizing natural room sounds, mic placement, doubling and pure volume, Tyler is able to use this as an additional instrument. The huge drone makes for an unsettling, but always interesting platform for the hazy and wondering vocals of Stefanie Goodwin. All of the vocal effects were achieved through the use of natural reverbs courtesy of an abandoned stairwell in the apartment building where the band lives and several spaces in the congress theater. I'm not sure if I would want to live in their building, but I love how their latest album turned out.
Down To Sleep is actually their fifth record, and it took about two and half years to record. The opening track, "The Sun is so Bright" begins like a sunrise, slowly moving and illuminating the edges of the sky. It is clear and clean with faint electronics, tambourine, and whispered vocals. However, at the 4:37 mark the song filled with a forceful and heavy drone. The sound is powerful and unexpected, and it can be followed through the rest of album. Shalloboi is a member is cllct.com so this release and all five of their albums can be downloaded for free.
[MP3] Shalloboi - The Sun is so Bright
Shalloboi will be performing at The Empty Bottle on Wednesday Sept 3rd at 9:00pm with A Tundra, Ceiling Stars, and Umbra & The Vulcan Sisters. This show will be the release show for Down To Sleep, and tickets are $7.- Jason Behrends
With the ambience of a fading twilight "The Sun is so Bright", the opening track on "Down To Sleep" the new album from Shalloboi, is a beautiful introduction to the disc, welcoming the listener in with majesty. Having settled you in however, the music takes on a darker hue, the fractured tones of "To the Sky", creating a paranoiac ripple that eats into the music. In the middle of the album, the heavenly sounds of "Angels Floating on the Head of a Pin" soothes away the uncertainty, before the flickering lights of "So Goodbye..." finally shows us the way home, a gentle drone with rippling bells and a warm heart.- simon lewis
Shalloboi "Down to Sleep"
Endless December
More like Only Shalloboi, amirite?
Actually, it's not really fair to peg Shalloboi as another MBV clone type band. I mean, sure, obviously their music is heavily influenced by the whole shoegazer thing, and there's no shortage of bands today mining that same territory. This band definitely nails the whole "Loveless" noisy drony guitar bliss sound, though, plus they add strings and glockenspiels and other instruments to gorgeous effect, especially on tracks like "You Turn Down". The press release claims that a lot of the effects were achieved through natural room sounds, mic placement, doubling, and pure volume, and that all of the vocal effects were achieved through natural reverb. I kind of wish a little bit of processing was applied to the vocals on some of the tracks, but it's a minor complaint. Overall, this is a really well done album that doesn't just repeat a tired formula, but adds up to something new. 8/10 -- Paul Simpson (22 October, 2008)