This is a page from Shane's journal ripped out. Growing up in the dark underbelly of skateboarding and cutting his teeth as the frontman for the indie rock band DIRTYLAUNDRY this DIY truth and authenticity permeate's Shane's solo work. "CALL ME BABE" features his characteristically devastating songwriting and an exploration integrating the wistful, folk-rock twang of his guitar work with a slow-rolling R&B groove. It's a lived-in sound, like a call from someone you loved but not entirely from whom you moved on.
The song's knockout punch lies in how seamlessly Shane moves between the cracked openness of a confession booth and the wide-open urgency of a road song. His voice crackled with smoky fatigue, a late-night voicemail you shouldn't have been able to hear but had to. Production is sparse but textured, highlighting Shane's natural sense of when to let the silence speak as loudly as the music.
Coming up with art as both a means of escapism and a shoulder plate of armor, Shane's multidisciplinary upbringing permeates every layer of his sound. You can hear it in the guitar phrasing, which sounds like sketch lines, and the pacing, which reflects the push-pull rhythm of cruising down an empty street on a board. There is a grit under the tenderness, a resilience to this heartache. "CALL ME BABE" is a call to connect in an increasingly disconnected world. Shane J. O'Dwyer invites us to hear echoes of our own. If this track indicates what's to come, the solo road is a path worth following for him carefully and with open ears.
Discover Shane J. O'Dwyer on Instagram
Shane O!!!!
ReplyDelete