Shanghai Love Motel, a New York-based rock quartet, announces the release of its debut album Thrum on the band’s independent Hai Shang Hua (Muckblooms) label. SLM consists of Bryan Brown (vocals, guitars, keys); Mark Hennessy (drums, vocals); Bill Millard (vocals, basses); and Adam Russell (guitars, vocals). Combining the hook-filled soulfulness of British Invasion-era rock ‘n’ roll, a harmonic vocabulary informed by bebop, and a knack for weaving darkly arresting lyrical moments among layers of tight instrumental counterpoint, SLM have made an album that will appeal to connoisseurs of multiple genres, from alternative Americana to experimental postpunk.
The eleven original songs on Thrum were produced by Nick Miller with SLM, engineered by rock veteran Godfrey Diamond, and mastered by Damon Whittemore after sessions at multiple Manhattan and Brooklyn studios (basic tracking at the legendary Hit Factory, additional work at Mercy Sound and Sherman Ewing’s Casa de los Perros home studio, completed recording and mixing at Godfrey’s Perfect Sounds, and mastering at ValveTone). Supporting musicians include Dave Cook on keyboards and Bill Bell on mandolin.
Tracks receiving New York-area airplay to date include “The Universal Skeptical Anthem” and “How’s Dr. Ving?”; the album’s upbeat side is also well represented by the Television-like rocker “King of Memory” and the challenging rhythms of “Ruined Man.” More meditative tracks include “Strong Silent Type,” “I Was the Dog,” and the acoustic/electric tour de force “Burning Bush,” a joint composition by SLM’s writer-singers Bryan Brown and Bill Millard (thinking biblically, not politically). “Too Good Too Soon” suggests New Orleans, while “How’s Dr. Ving?” recalls Vietnam. Additional reference points include Richard Thompson, the Velvet Underground, and Elvis Costello, but SLM are dedicated genre-hoppers and style-mixers who inevitably struggle when asked about influences and usually respond “the songs just sound like SLM.”
Thrum also reflects the lasting presence of Phil Sudo (1959-2002), author of Zen Guitar and other influential books, musical pioneer with Avant Garbage and related projects, and a longtime friend and colleague of SLM.
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