Th' Legendary Shack Shakers - Agridustrial

Photo: Joshua Black Wilkins

Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers are a band who I discovered by accident years ago whilst reviewing for a long-defunct zine. From what I can recall, the live show was a strangely ordered display of chaos.. Mark Robertson slapping his giant double-bass with a cigarette hanging perilously at the side of his mouth; vocalist J.D. Wilkes famously being given the accolade of ‘the last great Rock and Roll frontman" by none other than the mighty Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys.

Since that evening though, the band seem to have slipped off the radars that they had climbed onto in the alternative music world, so when news that they were set to release a new 16-track album dropped into my inbox, it was a pleasant rediscovery.

As you might expect from the name, the band are filled with all the energy of a hillbilly brawl - tracks like Dixie Iron Fist charging along like a speeding train bouncing on steel-tracks. The charging progressive sound of aggressive blues-cum-rockabilly vein runs deep through every track, with all the complexity you’d expect: harmonicas here, strange percussion noises there.

Compared to previous releases, Agridustrial has a louder, more intense feel.. and it’s definitely welcome; the frantic edge is what Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers do best. I can’t wait to see them onstage again.

The album’s official release date is May the 17th, but it’s practically available now (with the band’s Myspace listing a different date?), so go check it out. If you’re not into country-fused music, you just might be swept up by this lot.

The band’s Myspace is here.