Shane Smith & the Saints - Norther
By Alli Patton
Like the Blue Northers that occasionally sweep down the Midwest, the album is jarring in its power and rousing in its resolve. Still, in the end, it feels all too much.
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Shane Smith & the Saints - Norther
Label: Geronimo West Records / Thirty Tigers
Producer: Beau Bedford
Release Date: March 1, 2024
Tracklisting:
1. Book of Joe
2. Fire in the Sky
3. Adeline
4. The Greys Between
5. Navajo Norther
6. Field of Heather
7. Wheels
8. All the Way
9. Hummingbird
10. 1,000 Wild Horses
11. It's Been a While
12. Everything & More
13. Fire in the Ocean
Shane Smith & the Saints' newest project, Norther, is full of heavy yet empty songs. Like the Blue Northers that occasionally sweep down the Midwest, the album is jarring in its power and rousing in its resolve. Still, in the end, it feels all too much.
When a Norther – a fast-moving cold front – blows furious and forcefully across the dry Texas landscape, it chills and shocks everything in its path. Shane Smith & the Saints channeled much of the same energy when creating their aptly named record.
Road-worn and weary, the band blew into the studio for hours at a time after days spent on tour before rolling out once more for the next city and the next stage. Norther was born from great gusts of energy, gales of electricity and squalls of dogged determination. It shows across the album’s 13 tracks, better in some ways than others.
Opening with ‘Book of Joe’, a roaring maelstrom of power chords and guttural vocals, their fourth studio release is assertive from its first notes. Early tracks like ‘Fire in the Sky’ with its gruff dissonance and ‘Adeline,’ full of blistering regret, only serve to reinforce its dominance, both coming to life with a clear direction just before being battered by excess.
Much of Norther continues in this way, many of the songs packing a mighty but, at times, unnecessary punch. With offerings like the explosive ‘Navajo Norther,’ exasperated ‘Field of Heather’ and muddled ‘Fire in the Ocean,’ decent songs marry more-is-more arrangements, resulting in a put-on and layered-to-hell display of genre-obscured adequacy.
The album shines when the band pulls back, trading cluttered compositions for the more coherent. Gentle ballads like ‘All the Way’ and ‘Everything and More’ stand out among the collection, but hints of lackluster songwriting prevent them from truly being great.
Overall, Norther is a passable collection of nearly profound lyrics and plenty sufficient sounds with the songs most likely to bluster out just as quickly as they rushed in. But hey, isn’t that what Northers do?
5/10
Shane Smith & the Saints' 2024 project, Norther, is available now via Geronimo West Records / Thirty Tigers.
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