After several articles and two dedicated lists we can’t make this point any more clear; New Zealand have some incredible musicians. Like a nosy man in his mid-40s trying to get a look at his neighbours perfectly manicured lawn, it feels like every time we pop our nose over the fence to look next door there is something amazing just sitting there. People like Pikachunes, Tom Lark, Doprah, The Eversons and so many more are carving out impressive sounds in their respective fields, and call us a broken record but it is fucking mint. So it is with giddy pleasure we present another band to enter this honoured arena; Shakes.
We love our Kiwi brethren. And when they’re as good as newcomers Shakes, can you blame us? The boys have a killer debut track with Hole In Your Pocket.
Shakes are a fairly fresh band on the scene. They’ve been at it since 2013, but today’s release of Hole In Your Pocket is in fact their debut track. And as far as first songs go this one is pretty tight. It’d be easy to pigeon-hole Shakes under the monolithic umbrella that is ‘indie-rock’ (which makes sense, they’re independent and rock) the band display a ‘no fuss’ approach to songwriting and let the clever lyrics take the lead.
Like the aforementioned Tom Lark, there is a casual storyteller vibe on Hole In Your Pocket. Half confessional, half abstract metaphor, it strikes a good balance between the two that results in a charming end product. It’s a song about anxiety, confidence (or lack of) and getting caught up in a situation that there is no escape from. Lines like “The card up your sleeve / The one you’re hiding from me / Has slipped into the hole in your pocket” demonstrate this feeling well, inflecting a hint of slyness which alleviates some of the more serious subject matter.
Clocking in under three minutes, Hole In Your Pocket is a brisk piece of guitar pop. Those axes go from light clean sounds to having a bit more heft between verses and the chorus while the bass casually skips through. It’s an easily accessible tune and the hook of the chorus is bound to worm through your skull and nestle itself into your brain. One can’t help but think of Sydney band Jody‘s Codeine to that effect, so if your a fan of those guys and like minded guitar pop then Shakes will fit you snugly like a glass slipper.
