Steve Shiffman And The Land Of No- Self Titled (Tiny Beast Rec)
Based in New York by way of Canada, Shiffman quickly got involved with the flourishing music scene in NY, teaming up with musicians from The Figgs and Holy Ghost. After a critically acclaimed self released EP and extensive touring, a solid fan base emerged and this, their debut full length, is slated to drop from the new Tiny Beast Record label in late August.
With a handful of musicians coming from different backgrounds, Shiffman takes his rocknroll with crunchy and distorted guitars and adds all sorts of dynamic styles to it. The songs range from dirty rockers with a bluesy side to softer, folky strumming. Shiffman and company weave excellent musicianship around the songs as each one is memorable in its own right- whether it's a brash rocker or gentle introspection.
Like any great record you can hear traces of all the legends within (in this case The Velvet Underground, Nick Cave, The Replacements, Sonic Youth and Wilco to name a few), but ultimately the disc maintains its own identity as Shiffman has a songwriting style few could emulate.
Apparently Shiffman does one of the best live shows in the business; I don't doubt that- these songs seems like they were meant to be experienced live.
