THE SOULSHAKE EXPRESS - The Soulshake Express (Pitshark)
Egads, does the conveyor belt of worthy bands from Sweden ever end? I know many folks are over Scandi Rock (especially the major labels) but there's still a lot of good stuff coming down the 
pipeline. Underlining that we're a global village, this is on a little French label, up until now specialising in vinyl singles and EPs from the likes of The Supersuckers, The Hydromatics, The Nitwitz and The Yes-Men.
The Soulshake Express began life in 2003 as a blues trio, morphing into a rock and roll quartet called The Showdowns. Adding an organist/percussionist and they became The Soulshake Express. This is their self-titled debut EP and had a Swedish release on another label. So there's the back story taken care of.
The Soulshake Express are occupying a garage as their Danish cousins The Blue Van, but their arrangements aren't as sparse or as retro. This is an avowedly '70s-influennced band, like a low-key version of The Hellacopters or The Sewergooves with fewer hooks. I bet none of them have hair like Wolfmother and they're never going to sound as over-wrought as The Datsuns. There's two good things, right there.
This is a fair first-up effort but there's definitely a sense of a band feeling its way. Production is uncluttered with guitarist David Eriksson's vocals up front and well-formed. Neither his guitarwork or Martin Hammar's keys dominate, and the engine room could do with a little more dynamics and swing, but "The Whiskey (and the blues)" and the closing "Weekend man" expend lots of energy without being anything to get carried away with.
The EP's a precursor to a full album in 2007. There's promise enough here to raise hopes that the long-player might put its head above the herd.–
The Barman
