More like Only Shalloboi, amirite?

Actually, it's not really fair to peg Shalloboi as another MBV clone type band. I mean, sure, obviously their music is heavily influenced by the whole shoegazer thing, and there's no shortage of bands today mining that same territory. This band definitely nails the whole "Loveless" noisy drony guitar bliss sound, though, plus they add strings and glockenspiels and other instruments to gorgeous effect, especially on tracks like "You Turn Down". The press release claims that a lot of the effects were achieved through natural room sounds, mic placement, doubling, and pure volume, and that all of the vocal effects were achieved through natural reverb. I kind of wish a little bit of processing was applied to the vocals on some of the tracks, but it's a minor complaint. Overall, this is a really well done album that doesn't just repeat a tired formula, but adds up to something new. 8/10 -- Paul Simpson (22 October, 2008)