Shorebreak has dropped their eagerly awaited debut album, Silver Linings, and we couldn't be more excited! Indie rock music enthusiasts can commence rejoicing (right now!) Celebrated CT veteran recording engineer Michael Arafeh captured this deliciously live-sounding record at Coffeehouse Recording Studio in Middletown. Produced together with Shorebreak, the record is an excellent representation of how the band sounds live. There's a "sunny day" overall feeling in this well balanced, introspective album. It captures the best parts of the nostalgic 90's vibe, and holds the theme of the era throughout.
The album opens with "Landmine", one of their more recently written songs, Singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist Sharif Okasha delivers an upbeat, ironic, MTV-ready vibe, a clear picture of our self-aware protagonist.
It passes neatly to the title track, "Silver Linings", another more recent Shorebreak offering, which begins with a singer-songwriter sound. The lyrics give the feeling of removing the veil of whimsy, and waking up in the real world. Coming out of Rodney Maxwell's awesome guitar lead, the narrative and music shift towards strength into a solid, relatable rock riff.
"She's In Love" follows, a dystopian picture of modern human interaction, distracted and apathetic, an illustration of how we can feel lonely in the digital media age. Vocalizing the despair of taking second place to an electronic device, you can feel the frustration in the disconnection from meaningful relationships.
"Wildflower" brings the vibe back up high, it's an energetic and twangy piece, a positive, refreshing love song, perfect for twisty dance moves.
"Slipping Away" comes next, a grungy, urgent, empathetic song that's been stuck in The Editrix's head all week. Drummer Michael Keyes really shows off his expertly dynamic performance in this track, which also features a guitar lead by Sharif.
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The indie anthemic "Sun Coming In", an optimistic call to hope, gives way to "8 Miles 8 Minutes" a dark, riff based driving song that Sharif wrote while commuting and observing the speed and fragility of the surrounding cars and the lives in them.
Satisfying your craving for some sweet wah sound calls up "Music Sweet Music". Thoughtful and rock-reggae flavored, we love the big phat groove that bassist Patrick Riordan lays down under this one.
"Twice My Age" is a beautiful sentiment about how it feels to want to grow up and do big things. When asked about the inspiration for this one, Sharif said, "'Twice My Age' was written just after my oldest son was born. I remember having the idea for the song, and the actual melody and lyrics came to me when I was walking with him strapped to my Baby Bjorn one morning on a walk".
Another chance and a fresh start are found in the lyrics of "Waves Overhead", driven by a tasty rock sound, which brings us into the wrap up in "Ships By The Bay", (a perfect bookend to "Landmine") the last track opens gently with a soft guitar and vocal swell, giving way to a funky head-bopping trip down memory lane to Sharif's time spent in San Francisco. Mike's percussion arrangements here, and the backing vocals from the rest of the band, wrap up the album neatly.
Our listener question to Sharif was "If you could travel to one planet in the solar system, which would it be, and why?" Sharif tells us a story of seeing Saturn through a telescope while on a camping trip and says, "It reminded me of a slide you would see in science class but it was the real deal. Ever since then, I've been hooked on Saturn"
Chatting a bit more with Sharif, he reveals that a lot of the influence of the song lyrics are inspired by things and interactions he's watched as he navigates his own life, and it's all here in the love, loss, hope and good humor. With its comfortable simplicity, Silver Linings promises to be a go-to beach and bonfire recording that we'll be keeping in our listening rotation for many years to come.
Shorebreak plays in and around CT, and you can find more info on them at https://www.facebook.com/shorebreaklive
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