The Summer Storm
The Summer Storm EP
Self-Released
Street: 01.22
The Summer Storm = Shellac + earlier Thurston Moore
The Summer Storm is the kind of outfit that possibly would’ve thrived quite decently in the late ’80s and might’ve even gotten a listen by Steve Albini, but repetitious guitar tones with spoken word in lieu of sung melodies has never been common. Ultimately, this would have made a better post-rock album—by which I mean that the album would have been better without the spoken word, or in the case of “January Flowers,” without a vocalist who sounds like an overly timid Stephen Malkmus. Brief pieces of spoken word might be fitting here or there, but not on three out of four tracks. The lead guitar keeps playing variations of the same jangly, snaky riff, over and over again. Whether this is a thematic element or a failure in the creative process, I cannot tell. Interesting album, but I got all the jangly, self-aware, sensitive-guy music I need.