Shack - High Rise Low Life

Former Pale Fountains leader Michael Head resumes where his previous band left off on Shack's 1988 debut, Zilch. There isn't much on this album to woo fans unfamiliar with the Pale Fountains; the Pale Fountains were soaked in '60s influences, but while they spiked their sound with jazz and new wave, Shack operates within a limited stylistic range here. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, especially when the ringing guitars sparkle like summer sunshine. Devotees of the Pale Fountains will glow from the warm harmonies and sweet jangle of "High Rise Low Life" and "Someone's Knocking," but unenlightened listeners might feel left in the dark. The Pale Fountains were an acquired taste, namely because of Head's breathy croon, a flashback to late '60s England. On Zilch, Head sounds a little different, less open to reaching for the high notes he hit with the Pale Fountains. Although many of the songs are catchy, they're not instantly hummable; the lyrics, especially in "John Kline" and "Who Killed Clayton Square," are somewhat vague, filled with references recognizable only to the group or native Britons. The brittle riffs at the opening of "I Need You" recall Echo and the Bunnymen's Ocean Rain LP, while "Up Against It" has a Beatles-like psychedelic intro; both Echo and the Bunnymen and the Beatles are from Shack's birthplace, Liverpool, England. Praised by critics when it was initially released, Zilch is recommended only to followers of the Pale Fountains; anybody else might wonder what the big deal is all about.