Not since the height of Austin music in the ’70s have we heard songs so indicative of the original spirit of the Austin scene. That’s what the Shinglers throw down on their new album “Hit The Head!”
The post Album Review – Shinglers – “Hit The Head!” first appeared on Saving Country Music.
Classic country (#510.1), Classic California Country (#510.7), and some Cajun-inspired country (#569) on the Country DDS. Austin is dead! You can scour every square inch of the city, and cease to find even the vestiges of the awesome music, venues, restaurants, sights and sounds, and other stuff that made Austin a cultural hub and beacon of creativity for half a century. It’s been overrun by tech bros, purple hairs, the homeless, and the Joe Rogan/Elon Musk types …or so they say. But you step into The White Horse, Sam’s Town Point, The Broken Spoke, or Sagebrush on any given night, and you’re apt to find that original heartbeat of Austin music still pulsating as folks two-step away in bliss, especially if Austin’s own Shinglers are on the stage. Not since the height of Austin music in the ’70s have we heard songs so indicative of the original spirit of the Austin scene. That’s what the Shinglers throw down on their new album Hit The Head! Formed by primary singer and songwriter Colton Cerny, and guitarist Jeremy Brandelik, these two old souls first met in West Texas and bonded over their shared love of Austin stalwarts such as Jerry Jeff Walker and Doug Sahm, along with the greats from the West Coast country scene like Buck Owens. When they crossed paths again in Austin, the Shinglers were born to bring that original Austin sound back to life in the town’s honky tonks. From the very first note of Hit The Head! you immediately get those tingles you feel whenever you dust off an old Flying Burritos Brothers record on vinyl, and give it a spin. The music is so indicative of a place and time so much more meaningful, unadulterated, a delightfully simple to the one we find ourselves in the midst of, it envelops you like an heirloom blanket.
This doesn’t mean the sound and style of the Shinglers is static though. Far from it. There’s a reason Austin’s annual independent music gathering each spring was originally christened “South By Southwest.” It’s because the city has always been a confluence of influences in American music. With “Bayou Queens” and “Lock Up The Dog,” the Shinglers deftly capture the energy and richness of Louisiana culture. “Love Gone Bad” with its Spanish, nylon-string guitar speaks to flavors from south of the border. Oh but don’t you worry. The meat and potatoes of what the Shinglers are all about is super twangy, Bakersfield-style guitar, mixed with country-style songwriting. The second song on the album “Nothin’ Dries Faster Than a Tear” is the perfect exploitation of clever country clichés in a completely new song—one of many such feats on the album from Colton Cerny. This is matched with the perfect guitar tones to evoke the desired time period. The one potential impediment to the listener losing themselves completely in this project, is also ironically one of the album’s greatest assets. It’s the distressed nature of the recordings that give Hit The Head! the past-tense feeling that awakens the intoxicating sense of nostalgia in the audience, making this music delightfully unencumbered by the burden of modernity. But it’s also the filmy, lo-fi aspect of this record that will create a barrier of entry for certain sets of ears. It’s not always distress, but distance in signals that gives an album that cool, vintage, vibey feel. This is what fellow Austin-based band Rattlesnake Milk get so right with their sound. Granted, this review is being written from the streaming version of the album. Vinyl might present a bit better. At the same time, it’s the musty attic nature of Hit The Head! that reminds you of a record you unearth at a thrift store from a band you’ve never heard of from the early ’70s full of killer songs. That’s what’s so magical about the experience. Though this is officially their second record following the Bandcamp release Cosmic Range Oven from 2021, the Shinglers present an album that a strong career could spring from as folks from all around the world seek out the real stuff still emanating from Austin, TX. 8/10 – – – – – – – – – –Purchase Hit The Head! on Bandcamp