The Scottish/English band the Shamen has finally signed with an American record label. (Another “indie” band gone mainstream.) Their latest release, “En-Tact” is actually a remix of another album they made last year with the same title. It’s not my favorite Shamen CD or even my second favorite, but nonetheless, it is a pretty good effort. With influences from such gothic bands as The Cure and Souixie and the Banshees, this once funky acid rock band has evolved into a psychedelic modern rock dance band. Their music is full of incredibly strange guitars and samples, which make the songs sound as “spacy” as their atmospheric titles, “Hyperreal,” “Pro.Gen,” and “Oxygen Restriction.”
Jesus Jones fans should like The Shamen. Actually, that should be the other way around, since Jesus Jones cite the Shamen as one of their major musical influences.
The Shamen’s collaborative live performances, known as Progeny, can last as long as nine hours, which is why they have been compared to The Grateful Dead. These concerts are definitely worth the fifteen to twenty dollars to get in. But sadly, the only airplay that Te Shamen get is on college radio and in clubs, not counting an occasional massacred remix played on a popular mainstream radio station. n