As Holmes no doubt said to Watson, I think we have another case here so don’t be shy with the non-prescription medication. Labasheeda have been this way before - with their album “The Twilight State” – and I even have a district recollection that I actually purchased a copy of said album which must mean that I liked what I heard. Parting with cash is such sweet sorrow, after all.
Onwards and upwards to the potential case in hand which is their album “Castfat Shadows”. Although suffering from occasional interludes of strummalong longeur, there is much to admire here. There is the shadowy truculence Saskia van der Giessen’s voice for a start. She simply exudes torment and underlying malevolence. Then there are the hypnotic guitars on the loose pointing their sails in to the wind for a storm that is on the horizon and, whilst the title song, “Castfat Shadows” might well set the scene, it is songs like “Double Exposure” – complete with an edgy violin - and “Fake Italian” that show this band at their most focused. Prior to these two, you might well have been thinking that Labasheeda sound a little too much like, say, Love Is Chemicals, for their own good but those two songs soon sledgehammer their way righteously into your musical affections. There’s a method in there and a purpose.
Of the other songs, “Last Ride” and “Cars” stand out. “Cars” for being as good as example of current day European rock as you will get and “Police Song” for being so damn indie rock American style. All said and done, there is no case to answer here. Labasheeda have proven that they capable of getting better all the time.
“Castfat Shadows” is available on vinyl and from Bandcamp.