Album Review: Shed Seven – Instant Pleasures
2 min read
Instant Pleasures, the fifth album by Shed Seven, comes out sixteen years after Truth Be Told (2001). Formed in 1990, split in 2003, and reformed in 2007 mainly to play live, the English band from York announced its new release earlier this year. Although the name of the album is a great anticipation of the songs in it, all really enjoyable and well crafted; it represents a deeper reflection of today’s life style: few clicks are what it takes to easily satisfy needs and feel gratified.
The first forty seconds of Room in My House set the scene for the entire album and are the symbol of the major presence of instrumental segments throughout Instant Pleasures: music is definitely the king over lyrics. Even though the chorus is catchy and really easy to remember, the lyrics are not remarkable or distinctive.
As all the songs in the album, Said I am Sorry suffers from weak lyrics too, but with its funky and dancing rhythm makes the song a pleasant listen. Arguably Victoria is the song with the simplest lyrics, especially given the over cheesy “I’d buy a country / And name it after you”.
Hang On starts with a slow rhythm that completely changes over the last quarter of the song. This transition may musically represent the meaning of the song, which is to keep going and maintain hope since there is a solution to the problem. In fact, Hold On finishes with a female gospel chorus singing “I Believe”. Overall, the sound is rich with guitars and trumpets as protagonists.
People Will Talk is a cheerful song with a happy and relaxing sound about not caring of what others think. The lyrics are quite repetitive, but once again the great instrumental parts make the song enjoyable.
Overall Instant Pleasures is a great album, in terms of music and sound, rich of different elements as guitars, trumpets, chorus and pianos. The strong presence of instrumental segments and their exceptional execution help to forget about the lyrics which are simple and repetitive.
