Music, Print, Reviews January 19, 2015

New Music Monday: Shady Elders — The Night Air EP

by Clark Lamson

album

While their name might evoke images of seniors engaging in dangerous or illicit activities, the sounds from their previous record featured heavy, lush instrumentation, and a moody melody. Hailing from Denver, I am speaking, of course, of Shady Elders. The follow up to the No Favors EP has arrived: The Night Air EP.

The Night Air EP is proof that good things come in small packages. At 4 tracks, its a pint-sized followup, but jam packed with great new content. Guitarists Casey Banker and Miles Eichner bring the same shining and atmospheric strings to the mix, while the Nick Berlin drum gives the rippling strum a lush heartbeat. While fans of the No Favors EP might be disappointed to hear such similar sounds, I for one am more than happy to hear more. After all, how can we truly recognize growth if we do not first come to know what we have?

The title track is the standout performance on the EP. When you have a voice like the incomparable Fox Rodemich, the best thing you can do is paint a canvas, and let the vocals do the rest of the work. The illustrious Rodemich vocal is the rich chocolate coating that gives Shady Elders a comforting softness. The hook is vaguely dissonant and teeter, yet somehow irresistible catchy. It’s rainy day music, and beach music.

My favorite quality of the Shady Elders sound is its inherent “newness.” It feels new, in the best way. It feels like something you’re excited to pass around to your friends. At 9 published tracks, they’re slowly building a repertoire. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a few of them appearing on a small album (say, eleven or twelve songs) somewhere in the near future. If you’re looking to learn more don’t worry, they make it easy for you. You can find their music on Spotify, iTunes and their Soundcloud page. Also find them on your favorite social media. Shady Elders will be playing in their home town at the Larimer Lounge, February 18th.

Listen to The Night Air EP

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