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SHADE CD RELEASE
31ST STREET PUB
Friday, August 30
Shade creates chiaroscuro
like no other local band does; and as their name suggests, they emulsify the
vast spaces between darkness and light in a way that is equal parts heavy and
pretty. Think spiraling Stone Roses-like guitar riffs covered with
soft-yet-intense vocal lines, inconspicuous drums and twinkling keyboards. If
that description sounds an awful lot like Brit-pop -- and it should -- it's not
because Shade is trying to be the next Radiohead or Manic Street Preachers,
though their dashing good looks wouldn't hurt that aspiration. They come across
in the same sort of understated manner that characterizes those bands and their
shoegazing forefathers. Being able to play soft while still being considered
rock is a tough feat, but Shade, established for more than five years as a
Pittsburgh underground favorite, carries it off with acute propensity. Members
of the five-piece all grew up together and were friends long before they were
bandmates, which no doubt helped form the solid intraband bond that's kept them
together as long as it has. They spent last year recording their debut album, Forever
Now, Nowhere Tomorrow, which carries a consistent, intensely autumnal theme
and adeptly fades and builds in the most appropriate places. Though British
band comparisons are inevitable, they shouldn't be overemphasized, as Shade
stands alone as a bright and unique outfit in the local music scene. And with
so promising a debut, there will be no shadow over such grace.
-- CINDY YOGMAS
With Up the Sandbox,
Life in Bed. Strip District. 412.391.8334