The Shitdels Where’s Your Head? LP
The SHITDELS, huh? So, like “shit” plus “del,” plural? And they’re from Nashville? A city famous for catering to people whose favorite genre of music is “live,” and whose cool-band exports have always felt like exceptions rather than any rule? Were this a band I came across organically, instead of something the MRR overlords were forcing me to listen to, my review would probably just be a mental image of the “yeah, that’s gonna be a no from me, dawg” gif. And while I’d be justified in believing as much, I would have been dead wrong. This record fuckin’ kills! The SHITDELS play ’00s-style rough-and-ready garage punk, and this LP, which is actually their third full-length since releasing their debut cassette back in 2017, is twelve tracks that mash together Back from the Grave ravers, Vox Continental-driven party rockers, sentimental Brill Building pop, and even some glammed-up proto-punk. It’s a little punker than SHANNON AND THE CLAMS or the YOLKS but poppier than LES SEXAREENOS. When done right, this is one of my favorite types of music, and these dudes—or I guess these dels made out of shit—they do it right. Scoop it up!