Shadow Shows by Seryn (Review)

Speaking of sincere bombast, there’s Seryn’s much-anticipated and long-awaited sophomore release, Shadow Shows. Written after playing countless concerts, and after a few lineup changes, Shadow Shows doesn’t deviate too much from the formula established by Seryn’s debut, 2011’s This Is Where We Are. Trenton Wheeler et al are still fond of wrapping earnest, forthright lyrics in harmonies upon harmonies, and utilizing plenty of quiet/loud dynamics with a folksy bent.

It’s not the most groundbreaking music, and there are times when I wish the band would exercise a little subtlety and not sing for the rafters on every single song (or so it seems), but when the band really gets moving — as on “Disappears,” “The Fire,” and “Kaleidoscope” — they sound darn near unstoppable. Which probably explains why they’ve received so much acclaim for their live shows; from the levels they emote in each song, it’s clear this music is intended to be experienced in a live venue rather than, say, via my computer speakers.