The Great Nostalgic: Review and Show Preview [Go For Free]

Image from The Great Nostalgic

The Great Nostalgic CD Release Show
Friday, May 1
Hole in the Wall (2538 Guadalupe St)
$3, 10pm, 21+
[info]

After leaving The Laughing to pursue his own project, Abram Shook took his music in a different direction but kept his original intentions while switching focus.

His old band filtered melodrama and anger through a veneer of irony and excessive sounds and visions, while The Great Nostalgic is a project more comfortable with sincerity. This translates into a warm listening experience for their self-titled debut, even when the material becomes chilling as on "The Kingdom," where Shook intones "When we were young/ your parents took you from me" over a wash of guitars and synthesizers.

A surprisingly ominous work, The Great Nostalgic looks to friction as a guidepost, and looks to moody mysteries for inspiration. A happy find for fans of locals The Corto Maltese or The Sour Notes, the latter of whom will share the stage with The Great Nostalgic for their cd release show at the Hole in the Wall tonight.

The confrontational guitar tone is tempered by Shook's more tender vocal delivery. While most songs reach into the four-minute range, the band doesn't shy from epic productions, infusing "Legend," for example, with a soft acoustic intro that blossoms into an aural assault of brass and other varied instrumentation.