Shark? : Noise Maker EP

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/sharknoisemaker.jpg" alt=" " /><i>Noise Maker</i><span style="font-style: normal"> is a pretty fun romp and Shark? is giving it away for free, so there's no real reason to get your...
7.0 Self-released
2010 

Shark? : Noise Maker EP There’s a rumor floating around (which the QRO fact-checking department is working feverishly around the clock to verify) that one or more members of Shark? is a music blogger.  If it were true, it would explain two facts about the Brooklyn trio that you need to know.  First, they have a great ear for garage rock textures – the sort of ear that takes years of listening to obscure, shitty-sounding bootlegs to develop.  Second, they must be incredibly effective self-marketers, because reviews of their recent EP, Noise Maker, have popped up on just about every blog this side of the Hudson (and beyond).  In a perfect world, the first fact would be ample justification for the second.  But given an imperfect world and the mass proliferation of garage bands, the fact that Shark? has skipped so decisively to the front of the line makes one wonder if there isn’t something rotten in the state of Williamsburg (it rhymes with ‘blepotism’).  Hey, nobody ever said rock ‘n’ roll was fair.  Besides, Noise Maker is a pretty fun romp and Shark? is giving it away for free on their Bandcamp site, so there’s no real reason to get your panties in a bunch.

Let’s talk about the music.  Expect fuzzed-out, reverbed vocals, a tinny rhythm guitar, pots and pans drumming, and the occasional dollar store synth hook stirred together into your classic garage gumbo.  The title track “Noise Maker” lives up to its name: about two minutes of buzzing bee guitar noise backed by lackadaisical drumming.  Shark? – if you couldn’t tell based on their name – is a band that doesn’t take itself too seriously.  The devil-may-care attitude lets them cut loose on songs like opener “I’m An Animal” (a dead ringer for “Christmastime is Here”), with silly lyrics that invites the listener to drop their guard and just have a good time.

Noise Maker is sort of rock n roll karaoke, which is another way of saying that Shark? can’t really play their instruments (the drumming is particularly atrocious) and the album sounds way better if you’re drunk.  But being drunk is fun; and karaoke is a classic way to pay tribute to great (or infamous) music.  “(I Don’t Believe In) Miracles” has a fantastic Can-like rhythmic strut that must go over great in a live show.  “Hey Grrl” is a revved up, seriously catchy ode to your favorite ‘60s power-pop group.  “Titanz” has a darker, heavier rawk flavor circa “Ironman”-era Black Sabbath.  You could play ‘name that influence’ forever with Shark?.  Not only do they sound like a ton of other bands; Shark? also sounds like a ton of other bands, who in turn sound like a ton of other bands.  Shark? is sort of a karaoke act raised to the second or third power.

What does this all add up to?  Go see them live, download the free EP Noise Maker, and call it a day.  There doesn’t seem to be any room for growth with this band.  If they learn how to play their instruments or raise the production values on their recordings, they would lose all their loveable garage qualities.  Better to adjust your expectations and enjoy the vicarious thrill of seeing a few music-blogging schlubs doing what all of us other schlubs wish we could do: throw aside our laptops, strap on an axe and live out our rock ‘n’ roll fantasy.

MP3 Stream: “Hey Grrl”

{audio}/mp3/files/Shark – Hey Grrl.mp3{/audio}

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