The Brian Shapiro Band is a theatrical art-rock outfit with punk/avant garde sensibilities. Their songs speak to transformming anger and disappointment into something far more constructive. ...
The Brian Shapiro Band is an East Coast based trio whose debut effort All We Can See rates as one of the most interesting releases in 2021. It’s a heartening development that, despite the pandemic-induced disarray of the past year plus, musical units such as the Brian Shapiro Band are as creative as ever. The nine track first studio album has a bevy of recognizable sounds, but early on it is clear Shapiro and his musical partners are intent on emblazoning their own distinctive path.
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Many will find Shapiro’s singing style a take it or leave it proposition. I believe the most interesting aspect, however, of his singing is the way he couples generally straight-ahead messaging and reflections with such pronounced theatricality. You would think it wouldn’t work, it would sound too self-conscious, but Shapiro’s songwriting and performing style has surprising naturalness. “Three Things” begins the release that way with a steady bead on its musical character but a willingness to shake things up for listeners. Shapiro’s voice brays over the arrangement careening from one height to another.
I am quite taken with the second cut “We’ll Take Them All”. The light jangle of the band’s guitar work is more effective here than elsewhere and counterpoints his voice well. His vocal melody compliments the writing as well. You can’t draw direct musical or lyrical connections between Shapiro’s songs and other artists, but they share common reference points. He has a distinctive point of view that marks him different from many contemporaries and peers. “What’s Real” is a fascinating moment during the release. It develops, at first, like a reflective near ballad with a female guest singer before erupting during the second half. The transformation is total and has no antecedent on All We Can See.
“Thin Skin” is another of the album’s best tracks. There is a danger Shapiro can become too reliant on his wide-eyed theatrical technique; it potentially locks listeners into a set of expectations capable of compromising future releases. This track, however, illustrates how Shapiro finding surprising turns within already individualistic arrangements. It is key that he retains enough recognizable form and sound for listeners to follow along. The penultimate track, “Gourmet Mind”, will be divisive. It ventures further away from typical songcraft than any other cut on the album, but Shapiro’s admirers will appreciate his daring.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/brian-shapiro-band/1557934958?ign-gact=3&ls=1
“Le Chien” is another break with the expected. Ending your debut album with a song delivered in French serves notice like nothing else that Shapiro and his band are intent on doing things their way. You don’t need any mastery of the language of love to enjoy this track. It’s another enjoyable musical experience returning listeners to more familiar aural ground yet closes All We Can See with assurance and individuality. It isn’t consciously crafted as such but the roving creativity defining this songwriting will remain, in my mind, one of the strongest rebukes to business as usual I’ve recently heard. Let’s hope Shapiro and his cohorts hit the road soon.
Sebastian Cole
Press
Brian Shapiro Band Releases New Music
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Brian Shapiro balances a successful academic career with his burgeoning career as bandleader of the Brian Shapiro Band. The Philadelphia-based band’s sophomore release It’s Amazing follows their recent debut All That We See without any drop off in quality. The debut served notice of a songwriting sensibility and musical approach far afield of your typical alternative rock act, but the follow up doesn’t merely match its excellence. The Brian Shapiro Band, instead, doubles down and pushes their theatrical inclinations further than ever before. There’s other moments, however, that shows the diversity Shapiro and his cohorts can seemingly invoke with a figurative flick of the wrist.
“Ambitigeddon” lays down the gauntlet. The song moves like someone who can’t sit still, but there’s a clear design to how the track unfolds. It kicks off with a handful of flourishes before finding its pattern and settling into a slinky groove that carries listeners along. Ben Kutner-Duff’s drumming is crucial to making this song work and has a great sound. Michael Brenner’s sax gives it unexpected dimensions.
The guest musicians continue with Behn Gillece’s vibraphone contributions to “So Much”. It’s arguably the most arch song on the release and some listeners may not understand, at first, if they are intended to take the track at face value. The contrast between its musical setting and the lyrics is stark. Gillece’s playing will tether the song to earth for many listeners. “More Memories” stands out as the band jettisons the full arrangements of earlier songs in favor of a song with voice and piano alone.
BANDCAMP: https://brianshapiroband.bandcamp.com/album/its-amazing
Many listeners will be quite taken by Shapiro’s handling of the subject matter. It’s a glimpse of his full potential and a reminder that while there may not be anything new under the sun, there’s always new ways of saying it. “New Newz” takes that idea to an extreme as the band shifts gears into a full on punk rock style for a broadside against corporate media that does nothing but tick off the roll call of the current forces in that world. It succeeds as an angry rant and even a bit of satire.
“Take-N-Make” has the most deliberate pace of any song on the album. It will be a mixed success for some, however, as the song’s energy level never rises above a certain level. Adding brass to the album is an important facet setting it apart from its peers and St. Clair Simmons’ trombone during this song is one of its most memorable aspects.
Gillece’s vibraphone returns for the last time with “Savor”. This curtain-closer is taking stock and sharing its experience is never heavy-handed or unmusical. It’s one of Shapiro’s most sensitive vocal performances; he doesn’t have a conventional voice, but its ability to draw from a deep emotional well shouldn’t be underestimated. It serves him well here and helps the Brian Shapiro Band bring It’s Amazing to the conclusion it deserves. This isn’t an easy release but stick with it and you’ll find its riches are considerable.
Jodi Marxbury
The Brain Shapiro Band’s “It’s Amazing”
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I wasn’t a huge fan of The Brain Shapiro Band’s It’s Amazing after my first listen. I appreciated its skill, applauded its bravery, and definitely heard its strengths but, overall, I felt a yawning gap between my emotional expectations for a music release and what Shapiro and his bandmates are willing to deliver.
URL: https://brianshapiroband.com/
It’s rare, however, that I listen to something one time and never again. It’s Amazing started growing on me the second time around. “Ambitigeddon”, once remote with its seemingly herky-jerky melody, now played in a much more elastic fashion, and a strong groove emerged. The song title promised a lot to me, equating runaway ambition with some sort of Armageddon, and initially didn’t live up to its promise. It’s much more of a poetic meditation on the subject that gains added luster with each new listen.
“Am Now” is nearly 180 degrees different. The lyrics for several of the album’s songs have an outright autobiographical slant, or at least the suggestion of it, and the heightened emotional tenor of his vocals give it added layers of meaning. It doesn’t really matter, however, in the end if it is or not – what matters most is if listeners believe it and Shapiro is convincing. The music has a different approach as well. Its acoustic foundations and lead guitar give it a distinctly divergent character from its predecessors.
The lonesome wail of St. Clair Simmons’ trombone punctuates “Go To” with plaintive hurt without ever sounding overwrought. It’s one of the album’s most unique lyrics, I believe, but anyone looking for more “likeable scenarios” in a song will probably want to go elsewhere. It’s a vivid depiction of a dysfunctional relationship, not lacking dark humor, and continues the album’s tradition of songs with theatrical arrangements.
The Philadelphia-based four-piece reaches another peak with “More Memories”. It’s a solo performance, for all intents and purposes, as Shapiro pairs down the arrangement to his voice and Alex Posmontier’s piano. It’s quite a clever bit of songwriting. Shapiro’s vocals manage to weave genuine pathos into the song. The plethora of self-reflection present throughout Shapiro’s lyrics undoubtedly owes something to his tumultuous upbringing and the lifelong process of coming to terms with the past.
BANDCAMP: https://brianshapiroband.bandcamp.com/album/its-amazing
“All of the Time” has a kind of alternative jazz feel and the arrangement hangs together well. Ben Kutner-Duff’s drums set a definite tone from the outset and the production captures an especially evocative sound. It’s a consistent quality of the album. It’s another withering self-appraisal on a release full of such moments. Behn Gillece’s vibraphone is an important component of the track and the finale “Savor”.
It’s notable, however, that the “retrospective” songs are far darker than those grounded in the present. The finale falls into the latter camp. It’s important to note that, despite the torment of the earlier tracks, the Brian Shapiro Band closes the album on a much mote-tempered note. Gillece’s vibraphone has the musical effect of filling the song with a shaft of light. It’s sweetening without ever sounding saccharine. The Brian Shapiro Band’s It’s Amazing has a fierce identity unlike anything you’ll hear and it’s well worth a listen.
Loretta Kim
“It’s Amazing” by Brian Shapiro Band
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Brian Shapiro Band first formed during the height of the pandemic and released their debut, All That We See, during the same period, but their second collection shows them remaining as urgent and inspired as ever. It’s Amazing features ten songs and a small cast of supporting guest musicians such as saxophonist Michael Brenner, piano player Alex Posmontier, vibraphone player Ben Gallice, and trombonist St. Clair Simmons. The songs are anchored by the corner four-piece of Shapiro on vocals and guitar, Ben Kutner-Duff on drums, Rory Flynn playing guitar and bass, while Ed Moman rounds things out on bass and guitar.
The songwriting heart of the band, Shapiro and co-arranger Kutner-Duff, share more than cliched unique chemistry. It’s Amazing opens with the challenging yet rewarding art-rock workout “Ambitigeddon”. The song is off-kilter angles, a resolute desire to serve up anything except standard riff-driven 4/4 fare, and yet boasts a recognizable shape that saves it from sounding completely alien. The opening rave-up of sorts soon settles into a warped reggae-like groove during the verses. Newcomers will adjust to Shapiro’s vocal style or there will likely turn back here.
There’s a lightly hallucinatory touch coloring the second track “So Much”. Gallice’s vibraphone further sends things in unexpected directions, but no one element does that more than Shapiro’s vocal. The singer/songwriter/guitarist practically wails and his theatrical delivery flashes with a flicker of wide-eyed lunacy popping through. Make no mistake, this is all tightly controlled, and Shapiro and his band are after a definite effect with the presentation.
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“Am Now”, however, is a standout for different reasons. Shapiro and the band pull back on their overt idiosyncrasies and hit listeners, instead, with a largely straightforward singer/songwriter-styled track complete with acoustic guitar and even a smattering of blues. The Brian Shapiro Band consistently produces engaging material each time out, without question, but melody is perhaps an underrated key to the success of these songs.
One of the album’s highlights is “More Memories”. It’s Posmoniter’s second contribution to the album, but his role in this song far outstrips his part in the earlier “So Much”. Tom Waits would have excelled with this track, and it plays out like a classic piano ballad, shockingly stripped down compared to the rest of this admittedly spartan affair. The duetting between the piano and Shapiro’s voice, however, has distinctly different results. It has much more of a theatrical than bluesy vibe and Shapiro’s vocal is his best on the album.
“New Newz” is a daring stab towards something different. It takes listeners in yet another stylistic direction with its outright punk rock attack and the uncompromising lyrics, Shapiro unreeling a catalog of modern media outlets and nothing more, demands you take them as they are or turn off the song. The variety of textures Shapiro and the band explore during the course of It’s Amazing could be a jarring listening experience but there’s a core identity intertwining these songs. Discerning listeners will pick up on it quickly. “Savor” ends the album on a positive note. It also highlights a recurring element in Shapiro’s songwriting, an “instructive” tone in his lyrics attempting to help listeners arrive at some greater truth about a theme or moment. “Savor” has that in a powerful way and concludes The Brain Shapiro Band’s It’s Amazing on a memorable note.
Gwen Waggoner
Brian Shapiro Band Releases Follow-up Album
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Anyone should be forgiven if, by their forty-seventh birthday, they think they’ve heard it all. I’ve listened close to the greatest lyricists in popular music history, ranging from Bob Dylan through Lou Reed, among others, and I’ve never heard a lyricist quite like Brian Shapiro. I’m not saying he’s The Greatest Lyricist in the History of Popular Music – no. Shapiro, however, is willing to wrestle with themes more appropriate for prose writers than rock musicians and his sensibilities have a much wider perspective than you might be used to. And he does it exceptionally well.
The first track of It’s Amazing serves notice of this. “Ambitigeddon” blew me away the first time I heard it. It doesn’t overwhelm you or hits its mark with some killer guitar riff or ear-catching melody but, instead, the improbable juxtaposition of several musical strands. The dominant texture is tightly wound and dissonant rock. The sound is clean, though there’s some slight post-production affectations heard throughout the album. Despite its unique qualities, Shapiro eschews gimmicks and keeps the focus on his music and songwriting.
Many of the songs will divide listeners. Fans of predictable riff rock or songs built around melodies who push back against experimentation won’t make it far with the Brian Shapiro Band. There are glimpses, extended and otherwise, of traditional songcraft and arranging throughout the collection but, for the most part, Shapiro and his cohorts, particularly co-arranger and drummer Ben Kutner-Duff, are never content with a cookie-cutter approach.
It sounds like upright bass opening “Go To” and St. Clair Simmons’ slightly delirious trombone pairs well with its slow melody. There are melodies aplenty in Shapiro’s songwriting, but he can’t resist the temptation to place them in unexpected settings. The lyrics are among the album’s best, though not particularly cheerful. “More Memories” is an even bigger stunner. It’s reminiscent, in some ways, of Tom Waits, but without any of the noir posing that’s long been a staple of his work.
It marries Shapiro’s voice with Alex Posmontier’s piano, but the song opens in remarkable ways thanks to the lyric. It has dark humor galore depicting the narrator’s fraught relationship with money and there’s several turns layered within the lyric that give the songwriting further distinction. There are slightly under the radar jazz influences scattered throughout the album and those surface during the song “All of the Time”, a concise mediation on dysfunctional interpersonal relationships. It’s one of the album’s overriding themes.
The penultimate cut “Take-N-Make” has a deliberate pace without ever risking the listener’s attention. It’s full of chiming guitar chords that fall like brief downpours washing across the arrangement and Kutner-Duff setting a steady foundation from the first. St. Clair Simmons’ trombone contributions to the song’s second half put a crowning touch on the track. It’s Amazing is the band’s sophomore effort but, rather than reaffirming the debut’s virtues, it pushes into new territory. Their risk-taking pays off and the Brian Shapiro Band’s ten song release is a sure candidate for one of 2022’s best independent releases.
Trace Whittaker
The Brian Shapiro Band Releases “It’s Amazing”
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The Brian Shapiro Band proves, if nothing else, that challenging rock music can bristle with the same sort of attitude we value in 4/4 rock songs about cars, women, and fast times. His songwriting for the band’s second album It’s Amazing doesn’t shirk away from complex emotions and portrays life’s struggles and realities with pointed economy that matches the music. Shapiro’s the primary songwriter, without question, but drummer Ben Kutner-Duff deserves a lot of credit for the idiosyncratic sound and development of these songs. He’s a key member of the band, as well, alongside bassist/guitarist Ed Moman and guitarist/bassist Rory Flynn.
URL: https://brianshapiroband.com/
It’s the same lineup responsible for the band’s debut All That We See. The Philadelphia-based four piece first came together during the pandemic, and they share an obvious musical and songwriting chemistry that shows no signs of fading. It is safe to say there isn’t another musical unit active today who would have produced the album’s first cut “Ambitigeddon”, The song isn’t cluttered with guitar pyrotechnics or thunderous drumming, though it sounds as if it is teetering on the brink from nearly the first.
The arrangement veers from brief flourishes before segueing into a hypnotic quasi-riff. The swirl of the music speeds up, slows down, all in time, but it nonetheless feels off-center for anyone used to conventional tempos. “So Much” expands on the unusual sound of the opener. It opens with a brief introduction before shifting into a sort of jazz on Quaaludes amble without a surprising amount of bounce pushing it along.
It’s Kutner-Duff’s drumming that elevates it. His understated playing on the track “Go To” has a bluesy pedigree. The slight drag his percussion brings to the song accentuates the dismissiveness in the lyric, Shapiro’s sneering vocal, and the relaxed theatricality of the song, a marked contrast with its subject matter. “Go To” will be a favorite for many. “More Memories” has stronger melodic virtues than any other song on the album thanks to Alex Posmontier’s piano playing, but the song proves Shapiro’s mettle writing vocal melodies, as well.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/its-amazing/1618572577
“New Newz” is an outlier. It gives Shapiro and his bandmates a chance to air their punk influences for the audience, but the rambunctious guitars don’t hook listeners in with a memorable melody. The lyrics are an interesting novelty listing today’s media platforms and outlets. Shapiro belts it out with the right amount of conviction while still keeping it well within the band’s stylistic wheelhouse.
Few listeners, particularly newcomers, will expect hearing vibraphone on a 2022 guitar, bass, and drum-driven release. It adds a lot, however, to the final track “Savor”. The song has a life-affirming message, but it doesn’t deliver it with rose-colored glasses on. Shapiro’s careful vocal is full of feeling but as theatrical as ever. It isn’t any slight, however, to say so. It’s Amazing is an album that follows its muse instead of current fashion and anyone willing to give the Brain Shapiro Band a chance will recognize that fast.
Troy Johnstone
The Brian Shapiro Band Releases New Album
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It’s rare to hear sophomore albums this daring. The Brian Shapiro Band debuted auspiciously with All That We See, a release playing by its own rules throughout, and achieved a more than satisfying level of critical notice and respect. It wouldn’t be surprising to hear the band embracing their status quo with the second release but, instead, Shapiro and his bandmates Ed Moman, Ben Kutner-Duff, and Rory Flynn aren’t content with affirming listener’s expectations. They want to shift the goal posts and expand their sense of what’s possible.
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It's Amazing’s ten songs are up to that task. “Ambitigeddon” is an audacious foray into a musical land where composition is elastic, never beholden to the customary 4/4, and vocals jettison the usual rock cliches. It isn’t entirely alien. You can hear the guitar, drums, bass, there’s a clear refrain recurring throughout the track. One of the exceptional qualities of Shapiro and his band’s music is how it successfully straddles a line between the foreign and familiar. Brass plays an improbable role in the album’s sound and Michael Brenner’s saxophone makes the opener all the more memorable.
“Am Now” is an impressive marriage of the theatrical and the personal. Shapiro has been open about enduring a complicated childhood and beyond that he’s long since moved past, but it’s natural his reflective eye turns to occasionally look back and dramatize those experiences. It has a singer/songwriter feel, vaguely, in the way he puts acoustic guitar to use, but it upends expectations some. “Go To” may superficially sound like a lark, but even a moderately close listen reveals something darker afoot. It’s a portrait of a toxic relationship run amok, but it may pull the wool over your eyes a little. There’s more heartache than rage in this song.
“More Memories” will be the album’s favorite for a lot of people. It seems like a piano ballad for a love affair gone wrong, but pay attention to the song’s words, and the song becomes much more. It’s possible, however, to enjoy this track without paying it much mind, really – and its abundant melodies are a joy. You also can’t help but love how the voice is tailored to the music and vice versa.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/its-amazing/1618572577
“New Newz” is a slightly outlandish reminder of the band’s punk rock roots. The lyrics are nothing more than a listing of modern media outlets and websites, but Shapiro makes his point in the way he lays it out vocally. It may sound dull to some, but it’s anything but. “All of the Time” has an off-speed jazzy lope accentuated by Ben Gillece’s vibraphone. Shapiro’s vocal may not get appreciated for the emotion he works into its theatrical demands, but they will be an element that puts this over the top for some. The vibraphone makes its presence felt during the last song. “Savor” gains a warm, sensitive edge from Gillice’s playing, especially given the song’s lyrical message. It’s a surprisingly inviting close to the album, but its thoughtfulness isn’t any surprise at all.
Anne Hollister
Brian Shapiro Band is Back with New Album
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One of the many delightfully odd qualities I’ve noticed about the Brian Shapiro Band’s songs is how repeated listens normalize what first sounds like decidedly offbeat fare. The Philadelphia-based band’s first album All That We See stood out from run-of-the-mill debuts for many reasons with daring rating high on the hit parade. The band’s sophomore release It’s Amazing doubles down on the daring while retaining the band’s steadfast commitment to communicating with their audience. Missteps are scant during this ten-song collection and, when they come, result from more from trying too hard as opposed to coasting.
They continue staking out territory as songwriters with a mile-wide independent streak. Few other songwriters, newcomer or veteran, would attempt the near-Burroughs like “cut up” mood of the opener’s lyrics. “Ambitigeddon” makes no pretense towards being a linear cookie-cutter lyric but its intent is clear to attentive listeners. The band’s two primary guitars, Shapiro and Rory Flynn, draw from the late 70’s-early 80’s art/alternative rock scene dressed up with much-improved production and lacking ego.
Songs about life-wrecking romantic relationships rarely sound as inviting as “Go To”. The Brian Shapiro Band will raise a few eyebrows, without a doubt, using horns during these songs, but St. Clair Simmons’ trombone playing during “Go To” doesn’t sound out of place and, instead, provides a distinctive emotional exclamation point for the track. It is additions such as this that help shape otherwise unusual songwriting textures into tracks with much broader appeal. He isn’t pandering.
“More Memories”, if nothing else, makes that clear. This broken-hearted love song to money is, all overstatement aside, one of the most unusual songs I’ve ever heard. It isn’t just clever, either – it’s heartfelt and given a musical presentation where it’s do or die for Shapiro as a vocalist. He comes through with a potentially career-defining performance you can expect to translate well into live performance.
He takes a gamble with the track “New Newz:” that’s guaranteed mixed success at best. It’s clear he’s passionate about this punk rock guitar-driven raver, however, and listening to him bray out the names of contemporary social media and news outlets has its charms, however dubious. “All the Time” is, in some respects, another side of the earlier “Am Now”, except this time he’s looking to levy self-criticism. It’s much, much more hospitable ground for emotional connection than the earlier “Go To”, but the songwriter’s personal dissatisfaction bubbles throughout the song seemingly threatening to break out at any moment.
Ben Gillece’s vibraphone gives “All the Time” a pensive note but adds more buoyant color to the finale “Savor”. It’s great to hear the release end on such a comparatively upbeat note compared to some of the album’s earlier songs and the light “instructive” tone present in Shapiro’s lyrics is never strident or abrasive. It points towards one of the band’s, perhaps, hidden qualities. Casual listeners are likely to accept Shapiro’s quirks for many reasons and a key one is the charisma that shines through each of It’s Amazing’s ten songs. He may march to the beat of his own drummer, but you don’t mind listening to the guy.
Brian Shapiro Band Release Follow-Up Album
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Brian Shapiro and his band’s second album, It’s Amazing, includes ten songs that you will agree, without qualification, are different from anything else out there today. It isn’t necessarily that he’s remade the songwriting wheel or anything so groundbreaking; instruments are still necessary, songs still have titles, and you’ll hear verse, chorus, verse – at least intermittently. He pushes the envelope, instead, by regularly upending his listener’s expectations. Listeners accustomed to songwriting will hear Shapiro zig when they expect him to zag and, in some cases, flagrantly challenged what they think cuts it as song lyrics.
“Ambitigeddon” puts you out on the bleeding edge from the beginning. There’s no effort on Shapiro’s part to “ease you in”. The Brian Shapiro Band comes off sounding like a more theatrical version of early 80’s Talking Heads, but yet more minimal as well. Lyrics and music alike are pared down to their essentials. It’s only Shapiro’s vocals that are given a wide berth and his highly stylized performance could come off badly to many, but Shapiro makes it a must-hear experience. Michael Brenner’s sax is an unexpected touch.
Other musicians make guest appearances as well. “So Much” is a great example of the intelligent songwriting driving his work on the band’s first album All That We See and this new collection. Few songwriters today would dare write a song about the vagaries of perception and how so often we are content with believing what we know represents reality as a whole. Shapiro’s vocal sings some of the lines “straight”, but much of his singing throughout It’s Amazing is heightened, heavily theatrical.
One of the more personal moments on the album arrives with the album’s third track “Am Now”. It has a more mainstream tilt at first but soon finds its own way with another offbeat musical arrangement. Kutner-Duff’s arranging skills are wide-ranging enough that they can challenge preconceptions while touching base with fundamental songwriting principles. His creative partnership with Shapiro never overshadows the latter and is a crucial component of the Brain Shapiro Band’s success.
“More Memories” will be the showstopper for a lot of listeners as it brings together Shapiro’s outstanding songwriting imagination with note-perfect musical accompaniment. A lot of people are going to peg this track as the album’s most traditional moment, as well, thanks to its duet between Shapiro’s voice and guest Alex Posmontier’s piano. The punky blast of “New Newz” is a little too cluttered and chaotic to leave a lasting musical impact and its cheeky lyric listing news platforms for listeners wears out its welcome long before the song ends. This is far, far more successful at a little more than half its current duration.
Additional brass makes its presence felt on the penultimate track “Take-N-Make”. St. Clair Simmons’ trombone isn’t your typical guest horn, but it drops an oddly appropriate melancholic note into the song. The deliberate pacing of the cut helps put extra emphasis on its thoughtful lyric. It’s small, understated touches such as the trombone that give the Brian Shapiro Band’s It’s Amazing even further distinction. It’s one of 2022’s outlier picks for album of the year and well worth your consideration.
Brian Shapiro Band Release Second Album
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The second studio album from Brian Shapiro Band, It’s Amazing!, features ten tracks that take the iconoclastic tendencies of their first album All That We See one step further. It flirts with cliché but there’s something for everyone in this collection. I believe a major reason for this is the restless creativity underlying Shapiro’s songwriting, the skill of his collaborators, and the philosophical foundation guiding his art.
I hear Shapiro’s cathartic aims coming through during each song. Part of his songwriting motivation is the desire to transmute the experiences of an unruly and chaotic childhood into art that heals and connects with listeners. It isn’t a closed experience, however, as even those who haven’t endured a similar childhood can still get a lot out of these songs, particularly those who value passionate and substantial writing.
Those who value wit and intelligence as well will flock to this music. “Ambitigeddon” will hit newcomers to Shapiro with a wallop as it defies almost every expectation. Space is important in several Shapiro songs and its use in the opener invests Shapiro’s message about the perils of ambition with added dramatics. It has a herky-jerky arrangement, but there are fragmented melodies present throughout the release.
I love how Rory Flynn and Shapiro’s guitar opens “So Much”. Shapiro’s writing during this song faces life with a sense of wonder and the delicate melodic simplicity of their playing captures that feeling. It has a light bluesy swing, as well, that carries listeners through the song. Guest musicians Behn Gillece and Alex Posmontier, playing vibraphone and piano respectively, pepper the song with a slightly surreal and very theatrical quality.
“Go To” has several things working in its favor. An underrated strength of the song is its humor. It’s understated, without question, but mitigates the otherwise thorny adult situations often portrayed in his songs. The presence of St, Clair Simmons’ trombone is another instance of Shapiro incorporating brass into his material. You wouldn’t expect it to work, but it does. “LALA” is scathing social satire, but it admittedly picks an easy target. Shapiro and the band lay down the compelling guitar for the track and its seemingly abbreviated jangle is appealing.
Only one track may sharply divide listeners. “New Newz” catalogs a long list of media outlets and performers, everything from Facebook Live to the New York Times, before breaking off into an impassioned bit of writing near the song’s conclusion. It’s a masterful piece, in some ways, but there’s people who are going to hear it and say it’s not their cup of tea. So be it. It’s nature, however, does dictate the lyrics overshadow everything else.
The finale “Savor” is one of the album’s highlights as well. He writes with simplicity about taking the time to note the present moment and enjoy the proper perspective on life, but it never sounds trite. Shapiro’s personal experiences have informed his art without ever making it heavy-handed and the Brian Shapiro Band’s It’s Amazing illustrates that many times over its ten tracks.
Brian Shapiro Band Shine and Dazzle with New Release - The Indie! Source
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One of the best things about Brian Shapiro's newest album is that it's not bound by conventional genre standards. In a lot of ways it could very much be described as experimental and with Shapiro's gruff unrestrained voice that has hints of a Tom Wait's influence, it really helps create one of the most memorable music experiences I've had this year. Shapiro has certainly led an eclectic life that's always be intertwined with music, his who worked in the industry allowed Brian to be privy to experience plenty would kill for including watching Stevie Nicks's work.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brianshapiroband/
He's the type to be forthcoming and say that it was in no way a glamourous experience because lest we forget, music is still a business. This didn't kill his love and his appreciation for the avant-garde and jazz musings certainly played an influence you can see splattered across this album like he were a sonic Jackson Pollack. The opening of the album is certainly jarring with Brian's harsh vocals blasting at you with dense percussion and a sliding bass and guitar, it kind of lets you know right off the back to expect the unexpected. Mileage may vary naturally if this kind of performative, unconventional style is your thing, but it might be a gateway for others to search other types of music that have influenced Shapiro from the light country musings of a duet he shares to the French inspired finale.
The album in a lot of ways has a "Wall of Sound" quality to it in that everything is dialed to eleven, sometimes for good and bad. Shapiro's vocals while distinct can sometimes be drowned out by some uneven mixing and because of that, sometimes the instrumentals are a bit harsh. The lyrical content is sometimes both incredibly simple and a bit more esoteric (see the final song for that) but it's a unique balance that allows each song to stand on its own as a memorable experience. A lot of Shapiro's collaborators on the tracks have plenty of time to shine with some stellar guitar and drum work as a special highlight, and even with the aggressive Phil Spector like design, even listening with regular speakers allows you to pick up subtleties and the little additional bells and whistles that Shapiro has adorned this album with. Nearly every song on the album comes from a deeply personal place with Shapiro acting as the narrator of these pivotal thoughts of life that he's experienced and I think that's what allows the visceral performance to really do a lot of the heavy lifting even if it doesn't sound conventionally "pretty".
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/all-that-we-see/1558056200?ign-gact=3&ls=1
I know I've used this word a lot, but it is undoubtedly an experience, and one I'm glad to have gone on with Brian. He shows a clear candid appreciation from the music of all walks of life and continues to innovate his style in a way that's fresh and potentially ahead of the curve since he's not attempting to duplicate what he's influenced by. If this is "All That We See", the view isn't half bad.
Anne Hollister
Music Reviews Brian Shapiro Band – “All That We See”- Mobangeles
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Freeform jazz is often impossible to put a saddle on when fronting a full band and recording a coherent album. A lot of the time, the core themes can get lost in the sauce and the artists end up greatly paying for substance over style – most groups that try to tackle the genre and stylistic urges associated with jazz in their music are lucky to make it out the other side with something to show for it, let alone with their musical souls still intact. All of this preface is to say how rare it is for a project to end with the band gaining more soul and confidence than they originally had… but rest assured that’s not a problem here. Arriving on the scene with their debut album All That We See, the Philadelphia-based Brian Shapiro Band is making a statement and listeners will immediately realize that they’re doing so with their whole chest and then some.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brianshapiroband/
From the second the album opener “Three Things” begins, listeners are thrown into a gleeful tailspin of time signatures and rhythmic variety with bravado that invokes Brian Shapiro gallantly sprinting onto a private stage located within the listener’s mind’s eye. A horn shrieks and trills in the background, the guitar shreds, and Shapiro wails with a voice halfway between punk-surf-rock and Eddie Vedder. The statement has been shouted, the seed planted, and by the end of the first three minutes of All That We See, the Brian Shapiro Band hasn’t only given us one tree to climb but an entire forest to get lost in.
The band’s background points listeners further in the appropriate direction for exactly what the album is trying to achieve as their first recorded proclamation – I wasn’t surprised to learn that, among a variety of other things, frontman Brian Shapiro has dabbled in: street performing in New York City and San Francisco, doing theatre in Austin, and fronting an electronic trio in Paris. Shapiro is a musician, performance artist, and communication specialist with a long list of influences behind his unique sound including the diverse picks of Talking Heads, Tom Waits, John Coltrane, and Public Enemy. Joining Shapiro is Ed Moman on bass and producing, whose “influences lie heavily in rhythm and blues concepts, modal improvisation, and ‘pocket’ grooves.” Last, but far from least, is Ben Kutner-Duff on drums/arrangements. Kutner-Duff has musical background tied to the Berklee College of Music, further raising the bar set within this eclectic and provocative trio. It’s no wonder the output is so sharp and certain.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/all-that-we-see/1558056200?ign-gact=3&ls=1
As far as other standouts go, “Why Wait” harkens back to classic CBGB-punk by channeling a “Psycho Killer”-esque David Byrne within Shapiro; the same evocation is present in the shrill vocals on display in “Thin Skin,” which paints a picture-perfect portrayal of a protagonist you would probably want to cross the street to avoid meeting head-on. Closing out All That We See with the hilarious and fully-unbridled “Le Chien” is the best decision on the album, in my opinion, as it fully sums up the chaos and musical talent on display at its most exuberant. As far as debut albums go, All That We See is one helluva first outing! Go treat your “Gourmet Mind” to it, available now for purchase and on streaming.
Michael Rand
Brian Shapiro Band – All We Can See (LP)- Gashouse Radio
(external link)
The Brian Shapiro Band is an East Coast based trio whose debut effort All We Can See rates as one of the most interesting releases in 2021. It’s a heartening development that, despite the pandemic-induced disarray of the past year plus, musical units such as the Brian Shapiro Band are as creative as ever. The nine track first studio album has a bevy of recognizable sounds, but early on it is clear Shapiro and his musical partners are intent on emblazoning their own distinctive path.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brianshapiroband/
Many will find Shapiro’s singing style a take it or leave it proposition. I believe the most interesting aspect, however, of his singing is the way he couples generally straight-ahead messaging and reflections with such pronounced theatricality. You would think it wouldn’t work, it would sound too self-conscious, but Shapiro’s songwriting and performing style has surprising naturalness. “Three Things” begins the release that way with a steady bead on its musical character but a willingness to shake things up for listeners. Shapiro’s voice brays over the arrangement careening from one height to another.
I am quite taken with the second cut “We’ll Take Them All”. The light jangle of the band’s guitar work is more effective here than elsewhere and counterpoints his voice well. His vocal melody compliments the writing as well. You can’t draw direct musical or lyrical connections between Shapiro’s songs and other artists, but they share common reference points. He has a distinctive point of view that marks him different from many contemporaries and peers. “What’s Real” is a fascinating moment during the release. It develops, at first, like a reflective near ballad with a female guest singer before erupting during the second half. The transformation is total and has no antecedent on All We Can See.
“Thin Skin” is another of the album’s best tracks. There is a danger Shapiro can become too reliant on his wide-eyed theatrical technique; it potentially locks listeners into a set of expectations capable of compromising future releases. This track, however, illustrates how Shapiro finding surprising turns within already individualistic arrangements. It is key that he retains enough recognizable form and sound for listeners to follow along. The penultimate track, “Gourmet Mind”, will be divisive. It ventures further away from typical songcraft than any other cut on the album, but Shapiro’s admirers will appreciate his daring.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/brian-shapiro-band/1557934958?ign-gact=3&ls=1
“Le Chien” is another break with the expected. Ending your debut album with a song delivered in French serves notice like nothing else that Shapiro and his band are intent on doing things their way. You don’t need any mastery of the language of love to enjoy this track. It’s another enjoyable musical experience returning listeners to more familiar aural ground yet closes All We Can See with assurance and individuality. It isn’t consciously crafted as such but the roving creativity defining this songwriting will remain, in my mind, one of the strongest rebukes to business as usual I’ve recently heard. Let’s hope Shapiro and his cohorts hit the road soon.
Sebastian Cole
Brian Shapiro Band Release New Music ‘All That We See’- Skope Mag
(external link)
Brian Shapiro of his band of the same name has led nothing less than interesting life. Growing up the son of the attorney of Fleetwood Mac, he’s always been surrounded by music, both in the romantic sense of being able to see literal legends perform in front of him in the recording studio, but he’s seen the dark parts too that naturally come with any business run by greed and ego. It’s a wonder the man even wanted to be a musician at all, but when you have the bug, you’ve gotta roll with it, and roll with it he has with his newest album All That We See.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brianshapiroband/
What I can only describe as a nine-track odyssey, Shapiro goes all-in on his love for various genres as his influence list is a whos who of some of the greats that you might not even expect next to one another (he cites Randy Newman next to Lou Reed), but it’s exactly that level of surprise that goes a long way on this album because say this in the best way possible, but I had no idea what to expect after the second track. After a pretty stage setting aggressive opener in Three Things which acts as an empowerment anthem in a jaded world, we switch gears to the more free-flowing kind of jazzy sound that is “We’ll Take Them All” which is a more positive spin on the opening about doing whatever you feel like. Shapiro’s voice is not perfect and sometimes he goes a little too out of his range, but it’s a wildly memorable performance that you kind of ease into more and more as the album progresses.
While usually on the more exaggerated, he finds ways to slow down and show a bit more intimacy on the duet “What’s Real”. You definitely get the sense that he wants to see what works and what doesn’t by the sheer act of giving it a shot. There are these hoppy breakdowns in “Why Wait” that are kind of odd, but also slightly hypnotic, and the same can be said for this sliding yell that he does. I think some of the composition initially sounds a little too similar on first listen especially going from “Why Wait” to “One More Time” but upon subsequent listens you’re able to find neat little flairs from horns and various little bells and whistles that surprisingly act more complimentary than you might initially think. There’s an almost unhinged quality as the songs progress like he’s so unconcerned with sounding “pretty” than he is with having conviction and you certainly feel it.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/brian-shapiro-band/1557934958?ign-gact=3&ls=1
“Away and Away” the track towards the end might be the most conventional and while good, it’s almost not as memorable because you’re so used to being hit with a barrage of exciting things you wouldn’t expect. “Le Chien,” I think could have been placed in the middle since it’s the most distinct departure from the rest of the album, but it certainly leaves a powerful lasting impression. With a lot of artists even if they surprise you somewhat you have an idea of where they’ll go next, but I genuinely have no idea where Shapiro will go next, and I’m all for it.
Gwen Waggoner
Brian Shapiro Band – All That We See- Offical FAME Magazine
(external link)
The delicious unhinged quality of Brian Shapiro’s vocals is obvious less than a minute into the album All That We See. “Three Things” opens the collection with a loose, relaxed musical rave-up complete with kazoos. Yes, kazoos. It has a distinct low-fi punch, seemingly by design, but Shapiro’s near-ranting vocals occupy a central place in the production mix. The subtle changes in pacing throughout the track are never jarring but contribute to the song’s slightly askew demeanor. The second cut “We’ll Take Them All” draws attentions thanks to its jazzy inflections and additional musical touches. It debuts piano for the first time during All That We See and the effortless fills landing throughout the track give it an extra push. Shapiro’s vocals rely, to some extent, on affectation, but his phrasing skills are unquestionable.
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/shapiroband
Some might hear the third song “What’s Real” as a slipshod jumble never transcending its deliberately disjointed sound. Others, however, will hear a much more cohesive result sustained by its unity of style and sound. The song’s tempo changes are never gratuitous and nor is the shift from its placid first half into the intense, almost overwhelming second half. It is a premeditated move, without a doubt, but never rings false. It’s arguably the most memorable moment of the album’s first half.
The off-kilter lurching they achieve during “One More Time” is like nothing else in modern music today. It’s a testament of their talents as arrangers and musicians they can so deftly straddle a line between discernible songcraft and whacked-out envelope pushing. “One More Time” practically heaves with life. “Thin Skin” provides another highlight thanks to its languid tempo, another dramatic Shapiro vocal, and the inclusion of brass after the track’s midway point. There’s no doubting the fact, however, that Shapiro’s singing is a likely acquired taste. Some will find it overwrought, but there are many others who will understand the ends he has attempting to achieve.
“Away and Away” is one of All That We See’s more straight-forward tunes, but Shapiro and his cohorts can’t resist the temptation to upend listeners expectations. These key points during the cut spike it with a little added flourish and Shapiro tapers his raving qualities enough to spin this performance in another direction. He applies sporadic flanging effects to his vocals during the album’s last track “Le Chien”. Translating in English to “The Dog”, it’s an enjoyable performance despite the French language vocal. The idiosyncratic flash of ending the album this way shouldn’t escape notice. Shapiro’s confidence wins out, however, and this works as a great ending.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/all-that-we-see/1558056200?ign-gact=3&ls=1
All That We See is an outstanding musical experience, though some will feel it lacks mass appeal. You can’t please everyone and the Brian Shapiro Band definitely doesn’t try. Shapiro and his bandmates, however, have produced a song cycle that stands apart from standard fare today without latching onto fashion or cliché. They possess musical and songwriting vision all their own and nothing here suggests they are a flash in the pan. We’ll be hearing from this unit again in the future.
Troy Johnstone
The Brian Shapiro Band – All That We See (LP)- Daily Pop News
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April 16, 2021 by Jodi Marxbury
There are plenty of pros and cons that came out of the immense amount of free time folks found themselves unexpectedly submerged in due to the global pandemic that began in 2020, and the positives for some came in the form of artistic expression. The Brian Shapiro Band was the outlet of one such positive for Philadelphia-based musicians Brian Shapiro, Ed Moman, and Ben Kutner-Duff. For Brian Shapiro in particular, this was a new chapter in a widely-cast net of musical endeavors: before his time with the BSB, he has spent time as a street performer in cities such as New York City and San Francisco, and has even fronted an electronic music trio for a pop-up event in Paris, France. For him to further his reach into the musical melting pot by releasing an album under his name felt like the next organic step, and all of his life experiences feel fully on display within the border-melting, genre-bending album All That We See.
BANDCAMP: https://brianshapiroband.bandcamp.com/album/all-that-we-see
Listeners will immediately recognize Shapiro’s background in theatre with the way he crafts songs like they’re nearly all from the perspective of characters known to grace the stage and screen; holding names such as Tom Waits, David Bowie, and DEVO in high regard within his bio, Shapiro has his work cut out for him as far as imagery within his music goes and he succeeds while still maintaining a singular, unique voice of his own. Within All That We See, there are hints of Americana with head nods to a rockabilly flavor palate that holds grunge undertones close, as well as songs that feel much more earnest, though still storied, most recognizably in the third track “What’s Real.”
“What’s Real,” a nice duet featuring Erica Zimmer, cuts up the more zany aspects of the album and is the song the album’s title is derived from; it feels like a beautiful centerpiece for the album as a whole within its nine tracks total. The final minute of the track features a section that breaks down into a fun jam-band session that harkens back to an era of music championed by the Grateful Dead, yet, just when you think you have the band pinned, the fourth track “Why Wait” pivots into a surf-rock bop, chugging like a reckless semi-truck down a bumpy road. The album is noticeably worth revisiting, even if just to dissect its direct lineage in influences throughout rock history and beyond.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/all-that-we-see/1558056200?ign-gact=3&ls=1
The notable additions of Moman and Kutner-Duff keep Shapiro’s front-and-center attitude from getting too far away from itself, with the music maintaining a safe distance from ever becoming too derivative. The most unhinged the band ever gets is on album-closer “Le Chien,” but by the end of the journey that is All That We See, it’s an unhinged ending well worth experiencing. Atmospheric echoes accentuate Shapiro’s French yip-yapping (literally) over a pretty standard guitar strum, and it fully delves into experimental territory by the time the album comes to a close. The brass on a band able to not only attempt something like “Le Chien,” but to pull it off marvelously, is rare but the sentiment certainly hits home and cements these nine tracks as something listeners will not only enjoy while they play… but remember after they’re over.
Jodi Marxbury
Brian Shapiro Band Releases New Album- Daily Dose Report
(external link)
If nothing else, you can certainly make the argument that Brian Shapiro of the Brian Shapiro Band is nothing short of experimental. An approach that blends countless styles, genres, and even performative techniques that there’s ample amount of variety in their recent release ALL THAT WE SEE. Admittedly, there’s a bit of a caveat considering that for all of the experimentation, it doesn’t always work and sometimes there are some tracks that I would call a little questionable.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brianshapiroband/
If there’s a listening experience it was akin to, it was like hearing Gorillaz’s most recent album “Song Machine”. With that, Damon Albarn and co abandoned any notion of an album with a singular narrative in exchange for making what could feel like a series of nonstop singles that blend and lead into one another and in a lot of ways, this feels just like it, from the zig-zag opener “Three Things” to the duet with country inspirations “What’s real” to the admittedly too experimental for its own good “Le Chien”. This experience does however warrant the idea that there will be plenty who will find specific things to enjoy about the album, and I can say with absolute certainty that the instrumentation on this album as a whole is stellar. The arrangements are fascinating and often complex and being able to master so many vast genre intonations is a feat that’s worth celebrating.
The back end of the album especially showing off a lot of range even if like I said, sometimes it might be a little too maximalist. I could see many having a very decisive process to Shapiro’s voice and even admittedly, I went back and forth. In a way since the execution of the songs has this free-flowing spirit to it like it’s making no attempt to beholden to one type of style and Shapiro in a lot of songs has this almost Tom Wait’s growl but with higher braggadocios energy. It’s charming and certainly captivating, but sometimes it can get grating and the yipping noises in the album closer to “Le Chien” where I think maybe a step too far. I think with some restraint in both performances and maybe some of the lyrics as well (they tend to be overly complex, but sometimes too understated) Shapiro could craft something really incredible.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/all-that-we-see/1558056200?ign-gact=3&ls=1
Shapiro has a genuine love for music that can’t be understated and for even when I personally think all of his choices don’t land, you can’t help but admire the guy for just swinging for the fences and being willing to risk it all and we need more artists like that in general. I think you should listen to this album because it’ll be interesting to see what kind of baggage you bring to it especially if you’re unknown with his work and I think if anything, a work like this could empower a lot of artists. While not conventionally cohesive it’s apart of a distinct vision of an uncompromisable artist who’s working in their prime.
Emily Knudsen
The Brian Shapiro Band Releases Debut LP- Indie Pulse Music
(external link)
The Brian Shapiro Band sets the tone early on in their debut album, All That We See, that they are going to be delivering music in their own way, and on their terms. Peculiar and a bit off, but oh-so interesting, the rock and folk songs on this album give you a new perspective on the state-of-mind and state-of-the-union when it comes to indie music. To say these songs are entertaining is an understatement. The songs on All That We See are meant to be ingested.
With a spell of dissonance and some off-kilter lyrics you might expect from R.E.M. meets Gorillaz, The Brian Shapiro Band keeps the lister taught around its fingers. I wondered several times if the songs were just afterthoughts beautifully woven together, only to bubble up to the surface. I was amazed at the gritty, newness of it all. It makes perfect sense that Shapiro himself is a street artist. He has this invisible soapbox to his voice that makes you feel like even if thousands of people were swarming around him (or just walking past him on a typical day), he’s found the time to connect with just one on a whole other emotional level.
A few of the standouts on the album are “We’ll Take Them All”, “Why Wait” and “Thin Skin”. In “We’ll Take Them All” the daring piano is freeing, lofty. Shapiro’s voice is kooky and fun. But it’s also self-assured. He’s an artist that knows exactly what he wants to say. In “Why Wait” the tones are broad and memorable. In “Thin Skin” the rhythm and the beat are addictive, with a jaunt-like vibe. I’d like to give special consideration, certainly, to “Away And Away” and the final track, “Le Chein”. Completely unexpected, but in “Le Chein” Shapiro sings in French. The song definitely has that Paris-vibe, with his voice being both romantic and street-versed. He sings like he can be nestled in a café off the main drag, but still bringing in a crowd each night. His voice has pain and a whole lotta hope all tied up in knots. Like Michael Stipe from R.E.M., Shapiro’s voice has a whole entire atmosphere of its own. I loved it. He has great vocal range and gives amazing personality to each song.
The thing that I walked away with after listening to this album is that little sparks of love, hints of jazzy blurbs and clanging guitar riffs are all around us. In the busy city, in the work place and of course on the subway systems. We live in a world of chaos and relentless sonic quirks. The Brian Shapiro Band has successfully found a way to harness that power into their creative way. It’s audacious and it’s enjoyable all-at-once. We all beat to the sound of our own drum, and All That We See, the drum is a constant reminder that within that beating heart of ours, it’s all good. I’m anxious to keep The Brian Shapiro Band on my radar. You should definitely do the same.
Mindy McCall
The Brian Shapiro Band – “All That We See” LP- The Hollywood Digest
(external link)
The Brian Shapiro Band takes you to almost screeching highs and silly baritone lows in the new sonic extravaganza All That We See. If you’re a fan of David Byrne or Talking Heads and you find yourself pondering life, then The Brian Shapiro Band’s debut album is right up your alley. Smacked in between the measures are cutting guitar clanks and some nice bass grooves and rhythms. This Philadelphia rock/folk outfit is bringing something really special to the indie music world.
“Three Things” has Shapiro singing about things that he’d like to see to change the world, to make it better. He acknowledges it will take wishful thinking, and his voice hovers over a music bed filled with guitar and achy bass and percussion backbeat. “We’ll Take Them All” has some lovely piano tones and gripping lyrics. “What’s Real” and the awesome “Why Wait” continue the sonic chapters. These songs all feel like they are a part of the same book, but in a way, perhaps more journal entries and prose. I liked the pallet and the foundation this band presents. Their music beds are strong and forceful, but also gliding and beautiful at times.
“One More Time” and the very-fun “Thick Skin” come in hot. I loved the cheeky tony of “Thick Skin”. Don’t get too close to me, because I will walk the other way, Shapiro sings in his Warren Zevon-like vocals. Shapiro does seem like he comes from another time and I really dug how the songs sound very fresh, but give some sort of nod to punk, rock and folk. He seems like he really thinks of the world in a whole other light and when you want to laugh, you also want to cry. He also seems to be singing about things from afar, like he’s living his life as an observer.
The last three songs, “Away And Away”, “Gourmet Mind” and “Le Chein” are brilliant. I especially liked “Le Chein”. Shapiro sings the song in French, and from what I can gather, the song is about a dog. I feel like this song transports me to a busy Parisian street and Shapiro is performing on a corner, and a stray dog is his only audience. Again, there’s this painful sadness in Shapiro’s voice, but laced with an unrelenting joy. As a listener, I felt that something real when he sings, probably the most in “Le Chein”. I think the backing music is tight, but in all of the tracks, his playful way of singing and delivering the words takes center stage.
The verdict? It’s a fun, weird, delightful ride. All That We See has many moments of strange observations, but more so, moments when it all comes together and makes sense after all. Shapiro sings in entertaining ways. I think it will make sense for most listeners – especially fans of the aforementioned groups and bands. The Brian Shapiro Band possesses a unique sound and if you’re sick of the run-of-the-mill sound, you will fall deep into All That We See.
Garth Thomas
The Brian Shapiro Band Release Album- IMAAI
(external link)
If you’re looking for one of the most exciting and unforgettable musical experiences this year, look no further than Brian Shapiro and the newest album from his self-titled musical collective, the Brian Shapiro Band, All That We See. One gets the sense there’s a certain innocence that permeates his work including this album as for some background, Shapiro grew up surrounded by the music industry thanks to his father who worked in it, and there he was privy to plenty of the unglamorous realities we often only see exaggerated (and sometimes not) in film and TV. Regardless of the things he’s seen, it’s undeniable how passionate he is about music and especially the craft of it because everything on All That We See sounds like it was slaved over, from the inflections in Shapiro’s voice to the specific instrumentals and how they play out. Lots of techniques are attempted here with some different results each time.
BANDCAMP: brianshapiroband.bandcamp.com/album/all-that-we-see
While I wouldn’t say every track is consistent or a winner, the album overall works in that way as a showcase of just how many talents Shapiro has and what kind of musical taste he’s got his ear plugged into. He spent some time in Paris where he got back into making music and you can tell that has a large influence over the ending track “Le Chien”. Emotionally, he’s got a lot of range from the opening “Three Things” where he laments about being told what he can and can’t do (which seems very apt considering just how unrelenting and uncompromised this final product ends up being) and how he will always follow his own path regardless of where it takes him. He sings about affection and heartache with real pathos and a genuine lived inexperience and his voice while maybe not to the degree some people will have been used to by mainstream standards, compliments this kind of visceral listening experience incredibly well.
I do think maybe a few tracks would have been sliced up and a more focused shorter set would have led to an overall more focused album even with as many different compositions and styles and I think some people might find it a little too dense to be immediately accessible, but I think if you stick with it long enough, you’ll truly be rewarded as to how much care went into it. I guess my only other issue with it is that sometimes the vocal mixing is a little too loud and threatens to drown out or distract from the instrumentals sometimes, but that’s really for eagle-eared listeners as I don’t think your average audience member will even pay notice to it.
DEEZER: www.deezer.com/us/artist/126288012/radio?autoplay=true
Shapiro is a bit of a renaissance man having done musical work, travel, write a few books, and even acts as an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania and I think that diverse life experience paints his music as much as his own love for the various artists he’s grown up with do. If this is All That We See, well the view ain’t half bad.
Clay Burton
BANDCAMP: brianshapiroband.bandcamp.com/album/all-that-we-see
Listeners will immediately recognize Shapiro’s background in theatre with the way he crafts songs like they’re nearly all from the perspective of characters known to grace the stage and screen; holding names such as Tom Waits, David Bowie, and DEVO in high regard within his bio, Shapiro has his work cut out for him as far as imagery within his music goes and he succeeds while still maintaining a singular, unique voice of his own. Within All That We See, there are hints of Americana with head nods to a rockabilly flavor palate that holds grunge undertones close, as well as songs that feel much more earnest, though still storied, most recognizably in the third track “What’s Real.”
“What’s Real,” a nice duet featuring Erica Zimmer, cuts up the more zany aspects of the album and is the song the album’s title is derived from; it feels like a beautiful centerpiece for the album as a whole within its nine tracks total. The final minute of the track features a section that breaks down into a fun jam-band session that harkens back to an era of music championed by the Grateful Dead, yet, just when you think you have the band pinned, the fourth track “Why Wait” pivots into a surf-rock bop, chugging like a reckless semi-truck down a bumpy road. The album is noticeably worth revisiting, even if just to dissect its direct lineage in influences throughout rock history and beyond.
DEEZER: www.deezer.com/us/artist/126288012/radio?autoplay=true
The notable additions of Moman and Kutner-Duff keep Shapiro’s front-and-center attitude from getting too far away from itself, with the music maintaining a safe distance from ever becoming too derivative. The most unhinged the band ever gets is on album-closer “Le Chien,” but by the end of the journey that is All That We See, it’s an unhinged ending well worth experiencing. Atmospheric echoes accentuate Shapiro’s French yip-yapping (literally) over a pretty standard guitar strum, and it fully delves into experimental territory by the time the album comes to a close. The brass on a band able to not only attempt something like “Le Chien,” but to pull it off marvelously, is rare but the sentiment certainly hits home and cements these nine tracks as something listeners will not only enjoy while they play… but remember after they’re over.
Clay Burton
REVIEW: Brian Shapiro Band — “All That We See” (LP)- Medium
(external link)
The Brian Shapiro Band’s full-length debut All That We See is a dizzying delight of musical theatrics, an imaginative romp distinguished by its nervy individuality as much as top-flight musicianship. Despite the performative nature of this nine song collection, no one would ever mistake as spontaneous utterance, the freewheeling creativity powering these songs sparkles with skewed humor and unexpected compositional turns. Shapiro’s voice is in the center of it all, hitting on a wide gamut of emotions during the release, and surprising listeners equally in his capacity as a songwriter and singer. This is material steadfast in its refusal to conform to the status quo, yet recognizable — there’s never any sense Shapiro is attempting to remake the songwriting wheel.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brianshapiroband/
The band is a trio in an era when such configurations have made a comeback. He’s joined by bassist Ed Moman and drummer Benjamin Kutner-Duff, multi-instrumentalists in their own right, and they provide able accompaniment through each of the album’s nine recordings. The Philadelphia based threesome opens the album with the track “Three Things”, one-part dissonant rave up, another part energetic rocker striding with a low-wattage burn. Moman’s bass playing seizes on some tasty descending lines at an assortment of points throughout the song. It’s a crackling and lively first track.
His vocal delivery is artful and intelligently arranged but gives the impression of being all over the map. There are certain declamatory lines during each of the album’s songs possessing tone and phrasing reminiscent of Nick Cave, his lyrical content is far afield of the Aussie native’s writing, but their approaches echo each other’s in surprising ways. Those echoes reverberate throughout the second track “We’ll Take Them All” but its cockeyed jauntiness is what will linger longest with many listeners. Shapiro and his compatriots demonstrate, track after track, a willingness to take established song forms and shake them up into something idiosyncratic and stylistically singular. The irrepressible bounce in both the guitar work and percussion alike is memorable.
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“What’s Real” benefits a great deal from Shapiro’s willingness to share lead vocals with a second unidentified female vocalist. The traditional beauty of her voice acts as a leavening counterpoint to the aforementioned idiosyncrasies and works well within the context of this deliberate arrangement. It invokes a pensive, reflective mood without ever succumbing to melodrama. The woozy kiss-off “Thin Skin” skirts bluesy territory and you can hear the obvious relish Shapiro experiences delivering its wild and wooly vocal. It’s the singing equivalent to someone drunkenly wobbling down a hallway and bumping into the walls with every step.
Brian Shapiro Band – “All That We See”- Mobyorkcity
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The Brian Shapiro Band, if nothing else, is one good thing we can point to resulting from the pandemic. The three-piece formed in 2020 and their debut release All That We See is a nine-track musical platter boasting more than enough riches to engross even the most jaded of listeners. The chief songwriter, Shapiro, has an obvious talent for constructing releases; nine songs is an ideal length for the release and none of the cuts overstep in terms of length. Philadelphia has a reputation in musical circles as being one of the most important hubs for classic soul and R&B, but these City of Brotherly Love transplants are making a convincing case the city’s musical identity runs far deeper than we suspect.
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I reacted strongly from the first. The opener “Three Things” stakes much of its worth on the objective fact that few other contemporaries are successfully coupling a distinctive and often creatively rambunctious spirit with long-standing songwriting forms. His vocals are entertaining to my ears and capture the layers of meaning present in the songs, but he does have an unique vocal tone he’s capable of manipulating at will. “What’s Real” is another personal highlight. Some of the tracks included on this release deal with offbeat subjects, but others like this are much more personal and are grounded in recognizable realities. The reflective nature of both the words and musical accompaniment stands out even on an album brimming with glittering gems.
“Why Wait” recalls the work of late70’s punk/New Wave influenced acts, the CBGB crowd, particularly Richard Hell and the Voidoids. The same barbed intelligence present in those iconic bands and their work is present in Shapiro’s songwriting as well. It’s always a treat for me to hear how ably Shapiro and his collaborators reshape the by the book approach to mid-tempo guitar tracks into interesting variations on time-tested forms. “Thin Skin” is a great example of that.
It obviously pays tribute to the blues but in quite a distinctively ramshackle way. The true accomplishment of this bloodshot-eyed track isn’t lyrical or due to extended instrumental flourishes; instead, it owes its one of a kind demeanor to the constant feeling listeners experience that the cut is about to run off the rails any second, yet never does. The organized chaos of “Thin Skin” stands out even on this album. It prepares listeners well for the total helter skelter breakdown of “Away and Away”. There’s no track on this release with such a sharp theatrical bent and it scarcely normalizes when the song begins in earnest. Shapiro embraces the moment, however, and offers listeners one of the album’s finest and, admittedly, oddest vocal performances.
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Acoustic guitar, effects-laden electric guitar, and an assortment of other studio tricks make “Gourmet Mind” an equally unsettling listening experience. This is the sound of songwriter and musician following the sound he hears in his head, disregarding any notions of accessibility or commercial acceptance, and bringing listeners along for the ride. The Brian Shapiro Band are responsible for All That We See producing a song collection unlike anything else you’ll encounter today.
Nicole Killian
“All That We See” by The Brian Shapiro Band- Too Much Love
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Do you prefer to listen to music that helps you escape, or do you prefer to listen to music to immerse yourself within the sonic walls? If you’re like me, you like what you like and you can’t often pinpoint exactly what it is that you like about a song, only that you just like the way it makes you feel. In the nine-song debut album, All That We See, the Philadelphia-based band, The Brian Shapiro Band, combines ferocious acoustic guitar and a nice rhythm melting in order for the listener to enjoy some ear candy.
Shapiro, the voice behind the mic, has a very eccentric way about him. He can hold a note, yes, but sometimes he wails in a way that is both funny and emotional. He really shakes things up and I get that he’s conveying his feelings as chaotic and (like most of us) he’s trying to make sense of what is happening all around us. The first few tracks on the album warm the listener up in a way that feels like he’s setting the table for a huge, grand feast by the album’s end. In “Three Things” and “We’ll Take Them All” the guitar work never lollygags, and Shapiro’s voice is centered. He swoops in, and he starts to get playful with the vocal range. By the time he hits “Thin Skin” he really keeps you guessing. I loved the timbre and cadence in his voice – he can make you feel like you’re on a merry-go-round and you catch something different each listen.
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Also comprising the band are Ben Kutner-Duff and Ed Moman. Interestingly enough, Shapiro is the son of the attorney for Fleetwood Mac. I think he brings that energy in his voice, and some of the “Tusk” percussion, but I found these songs to be very cerebral. That’s a good thing! Shapiro has lived in many places of the years, including San Francisco, Austin and Paris. He comes across as a troubadour and it oozes into the words and the guitar arrangement. Sprinkle in a cascading piano here and there, and you have yourself a complete musical journey. I think these songs have been festering inside his soul for some time, and by golly, he gets them out.
All That We See has fancy moments, but for the most part, these songs are the result of artists that have immersed themselves into the fabric of humanity. These tunes are the kind that have to be listened to with a focus – they are not background songs. I imagine that Shapiro brings the same character in his voice to a live setting and to hear these songs it would be ideal to listen to them at an amphitheater, just before sunset. Better yet, the intimate moments are best suited for a dive bar in Brooklyn. Shapiro finds a way to pierce the heart, but he keeps the listener’s mind running on full-steam. I like that. I needed that. All That We See is definitely a game-changer for indie music.
John McCall
“All That We See” (LP) by Brian Shapiro Band- Indie Shark
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All That We See is the eclectic debut album from Philadelphia’s Brian Shapiro Band. Filled with crunchy guitars, tight percussion and some provoking lyrics, these nine songs tell a complete story. Even if you listen to the songs out of order, you are sure to glean a strong sense of who Shapiro is as both an artist and a man. He’s a citizen of the times and he and the band slay the truth with a rich blend of folk, Americana and rock. All That We See is told from his point-of-view but songs like “We’ll Take Them All” and “Why Wait” further connect us more than we can imagine.
Reminding me a bit of Frank Zappa, with clever quips and matter-of-fact singing, Shapiro’s social commentary shines through in his lyrics. That’s when I turn to wishful thinking, he sings in the opener “Three Things”. He’s very conversational, with a voice that is deep and meets at the crossroads of Zappa and maybe even Bruce Springsteen. Shapiro, who is also a performance artist, has a strong sense of confidence in his delivery. I like how he’s immediately comfortable and his songs at times feel like he’s singing to you in mid-conversation. Like you’re at a coffeehouse with him and he just starts into song (with a backing band). It’s Avant-garde, but not too far off that you can’t tell what’s happening.
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By the third track, “What’s Real” he’s enlisted a female vocalist to help shape his tale, give the listener and even broader sense of style. The songs on All That We See are everything that makes indie music, and American music so unique. In Shapiro you’re hearing the exhaustion of humanity, but also the exuberance of the human spirit. Three songs later, “Thin Skin” the haunting guitar build is matched by the rolling pitches in Shapiro’s commanding voice. So keep your distance and won’t you leave / just stay away / so don’t you get too close to me / because I will walk the other way…he sings. He has little melodic curls, almost yips, at the end of his vocal lines. I loved the way the guitar is almost pounded, like you think it’s going to drown out his voice, along with the rest of the instrumentation, but it doesn’t.
The last three tracks, “Away And Away”, “Gourmet Mind” and “Le Chein” mold together the finishing touches on an always-interesting album. The rawness is never so spellbinding as it is in “Le Chein”. The guitar drills, much like a Nirvana-esque tone, as Shapiro sings passionately in French. His voice ebbs and flows giddy-like, while a Dr. Who-esque whammy board trembles along. It’s far out and rather bizarre, but after a few listens, I kept wanting more. Perhaps the point of these songs isn’t exactly that the moment you’re listening you know what’s happening, but as they linger in your imagination, they ooze out like an ice cream shake spilling out from under the lid. You have to get that lick – and in this case, you have to get that extra listen.
Mark Druery