One evening last year in The Peel in Kingston, the thought of going to Fest went from being a crazy idea to being an actual plan. I'd been to a gig (I forget who) with a friend and mentioned how awesome the line-up looked. We looked on her iPhone and she agreed it was pretty incredible. We figured we could get cheap-ish flights, go for two weeks, see some sights before, go to Fest, check out some more sights and go home. Turns out Florida doesn't have a great deal of sights, so potential culture was changed for beaches and rollercoasters. Throw a weekend of punk into the mix and you've got a fun, albeit non-standard, holiday.
Shores were one of the first bands we saw at Fest. We decided to head up to Gainesville on the Thursday to check out one of the Pre-Fest shows and opted for the one in 1982 (a very cool bar filled with old Nintendos and cheap beer, although it turned out everywhere had cheap beer). I think Caves were the main draw, a band we've seen plenty of times, but were excited to see again in a foreign country. Anyway, the fourth band that night were Shores and I thought they were ace. They seemed different to the other bands we'd seen, but somehow still very much a punk band. On the surface the fact they're on No Idea seems odd, but at the same time totally right. A lot of the songs started as slow, brooding numbers but then would gradually explode into a crazed, organised mess of guitars and drums. I was impressed.
Often at gigs I want to buy a record but I'm never sure which album to go for, especially when its a band I know nothing about. Merch guys often play an under-appreciated role here in convincing me which record to go for. After Shores played I had a chat with the merch guy who offered me both of their LPs for $15, which at the time was still way cheaper than buying one record at home, and he had a sale. Of course being half way round the world and without a turntable it was a while before I got to listen to them. I played Coup de Grace before To Volstead and it became my favourite of the two (not that there's anything wrong with To Volstead, more on that record another time). The first track on side 2 Engage, Pall is possibly my highlight and a perfect example of a song that explodes and keeps going. The whole album feels sparse, but never like anything is missing. Even lyrically they barely form a full sentence. I often see the band compared to Low, and I can see where they're coming from. However (and with the exception of the last album), I sometimes feel like Low's songs don't really go anywhere; like they're just build-up for something that doesn't happen. That's not the case with Shores - on Coup de Grace you're rewarded every time. Roux and the seven-minute Canned Heat are also worthy of particular mention.
So yeah, more on Shores another time when I write about To Volstead, but I fully recommend checking them out.
Format: 12", half-a4 inner
Tracks: 8
Cost: £4.62 new
Bought: Fest
When: 27/10/11
Colour: Brown
Etching: Side A:"Home wrecker? Hanger? Shores? Hmmm..." Side B:"Burittos"
mp3s: download
