We don’t typically get to hear from the people behind this machine we call the music industry, and so when Shaky came across our radar, we found this refreshingly insightful. This Pennsylvania musician is the founder and operator of the independent Shaky Records, and he also has an extensive history in bands like Cold Fronts and Killer Bangs. Here’s someone who doesn’t have anything left yet to prove and yet is still compelled to make music, if only for the love of it.
That’s the feeling you get from his latest track ‘In a Heartbeat’. It’s all about love, friendship and the sweet taste of nostalgia. Through an unvarnished, yet arguably rose-tinted, lens, Shaky looks back at joy and freedom and being young and unapologetically carefree. Those sweeping late 90s to early 00s rock motifs really sets the listener back into those days of hedonism, which brings a temporary sense of comfort in the wake of our pressure-cooker society.
Keeping up with this sense of nostalgia, Shaky trades in over-polished production for his entirely DIY effort in which he handles all writing, recording, producing and mixing himself in a humble basement studio. This grassroots ethos lends itself to the punchy immediacy of ‘In a Heartbeat’, which is steered by gritty guitar riffs, fuzzed-out chords and marching drums. All of this is topped off by Shaky‘s pop-punk vocals, reminiscent of Billie Joe Armstrong, but with more of a laid-back flair that makes his lyrics even more relatable.
Hazy yet melodic, raw yet balanced, reflective yet not self-pitying; ‘In a Heartbeat’ is a welcome trip down memory lane, yet one we know we can’t live in forever.
You can also find ‘In a Heartbeat’ in our Indie Rockers playlist.
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