his album starts off with "The Hype", which more or less gets this album going the way that you would expect it to, with a couple of nice little details here and there that do make it more punchy. I like the very groove-centric bass lines, but it's really those handclaps and the dual vocals by Rachel Aggs and Billy Easter that make this one pop. I actually really dig Billy's performance a LOT, especially since in the past it has been a little more about Rachel's performance than anything. No joke though, this is one hell of a groovy, cocky, Post Punk tune with some real snap to it. Do I still wish the production was maybe a little heavier or if Shopping maybe got darker? Hell yes I do. But still, this track really does work great for an intro, and is a great example of Shopping's style. Now I will give Shopping credit, this is a heavier album overall. Tracks like "Wild Child" actually have a ton of edge to it, and there's a real sense of urgency in this instrumental. Hell, even Rachel's performance is a little more aggressive. It's probably one of the more Punk tunes I've heard from Shopping. Plus, once again, a lot of the little details like the keyboards and some of the sharp blasts of vocals on that chorus are great touches. But it's tracks like "Wild Child" that honestly don't do that much for me. It's OK at best, and there certainly isn't anything bad about it. But there's also nothing about this one that's going to bring me back for round 2. Now on the other hand, the bongos at the start of "Asking For A Friend" are a really nice edge, and something that quite frankly you don't really here in this genre. Everything that follows is serious ear candy. The playing is tight and groovy, and as far as a Dance Punk sound goes it really doesn't get much better than this. But I think what I love most about this track is just how much room to breathe Shopping give themselves. I always feel like their performances are a little tight and rigid sometimes, which I get that Post-Punk is practically built on. But on "Asking For A Friend", they really sound like they're letting themselves be free and let loose. This is a spacious Post-Punk tune with some great performances all around. THIS is the sound Shopping need to stick with. The very groove oriented Punk continues with "Suddenly Gone". This one on the other hand is so much more rigid. However Shopping make it work really well by adding in tons of personality. I do feel like a lot of these tracks speak for themselves however, and the best way to get a real taste for Shopping is to check them out. But still, I feel like Shopping are dishing out more personality then ever, which is really going to make them stand out in this genre in the long run. Not to mention, that all out breakdown in the last 30 seconds or so is seriously intense.
I do have to give credit to Shopping because on a handful of tracks here they really do shine. "Shave Your Head" as a whole represents the sound of everything I've want to hear Shopping try out. I love the more downtrodden and gloomy feel to the instrumentals. Billy's vocals come off so much darker and sleazier, and most of all Punk as hell. It's repetitive, but in the best way, saluting so many of the Post Punk greats. "Shave Your Head" absolutely rules, and I would really love to hear them go more down this route in the future. It's dark, but not to a cliche level where it comes off goofy. It's also strangely intense, I honestly would have loved to hear this one go even longer. But then we have "Discover" and I'm instantly worried about Shopping's future. This track all around is just so ugly and weird. I thought some synths would do some really great stuff for the band and give them a little edge, and make some of the grooves more danceable then they already are. But this track is straight up ugly from start to finish. Some of Billy's spoken word verses come off so corny, and this is far from Rachel's best. Sadly, I honestly can't think about this track that I DO like. "Control Yourself" up next is another slow one, which honestly got me excited at first, because I do really love a lot of the tension within these instrumentals. But the performances that we get here are the exact opposite. With all of this awesome tension I was expecting to get some more of that in return from Billy and Rachel. But here they just end up sounding bored, like they would literally be happier doing anything else. And if they're going for that "bored" sound to make this one ironic or hypnotic, it's failing. Even the later moments of "Control Yourself' when things get out of control, this track comes off so safe sounding, which sadly I can say about a lot of the tracks here. So much so, that when "My Dad's a Dancer starts up I actually get excited to hear Shopping go back to the same repetitive formula they were dealing with easier. I wouldn't say that's a bad thing though, because this track is actually really great. The instrumentals are back to being much more aggressive, and I just love Rachel's performance here as well as her punchy lyrics. Outside of that though, this track is just really well done. While Shopping may not be reinventing the wheel, this certainly works for Shopping.
As this album begins wrapping up, I really can't get past just how ugly these synths come off on tracks like "New Values". This is certainly a little better than some of the earlier Synth Driven tunes, mostly due to the great personality on these vocal performances. But outside of that, it's the little details that make this one tick, like the distant guitar licks and the short and intense vocal passages. Overall, "New Values" isn't necessarily bad. But once again, I feel like even on this album's best moments I feel like Shopping are just so incredibly average. I do like the very repetitive and hypnotic chorus that ends this one off, however. Shopping, however, apparently saved the best for last. I love just how lively "Overtime" comes off immediately, with some of the most animated instrumentals we've heard yet. On this one, Rachel's performance is so charismatic, and some of her most creative and interesting lyrics end up here. Overall, on this one Shopping come off at their most unified, and it sounds like they're having a blast. Even the synths that pop in for the chorus compliment them so much more. I don't know what's so hard about this sound, but I hope we hear more of it in the future.
Rating: 7.5/10
Give A Listen To: “The Hype”, “Asking For A Friend”, “Shave Your Head”, “Overtime”
Genre: Post-Punk / Dance-Punk / Punk Rock
Overall Thoughts: Shopping has certainly come a long way from their early, sort of faceless Post Punk releases. In a lot of ways, this actually comes off as their most proper release. The production on this album is for the most part, really solid. But as far as Personality goes, that’s where Shopping really stand out, because they have tons of it. I have to say though, I really hope they capitalize on that more in the future, because at it’s best points this album is just very average. I want to hear them take more risks and get a little more aggressive because it’s the moments like THAT on here that actually excite me. Still, this is a solid Post Punk release, just stay the hell away from those Synth tunes, no thank you.
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