Shorebirds

Shorebirds: Shorebirds [7 inch]Shorebirds [7 inch] (2007)
self-released

Reviewer Rating: 4

User Rating:

Contributed by: JeloneJelone
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on November 30th 2007After a year of speculation, rambunctiously catchy punk act Latterman has broken up. Being a fan of three of the band's full-lengths (Turn Up the Punk, We'll Be Singing, No Matter Where We Go..! and …We Are Still Alive), I was thoroughly bummed out by this announcement. Along with acts like Against .

After a year of speculation, rambunctiously catchy punk act Latterman has broken up. Being a fan of three of the band's full-lengths (Turn Up the Punk, We'll Be Singing, No Matter Where We Go..! and …We Are Still Alive), I was thoroughly bummed out by this announcement. Along with acts like Against Me! and Nakatomi Plaza, these guys provided me with some pro-unity, pro-rockin' jams.

In his online farewell address of sorts, bassist Matt Canino wrote that he was done with Latterman because of stress from touring, as well as from a new-found fanbase that reveled in violence and sexism, two very mook-tastic perspectives that Latterman did not agree with.

"I even got to a point where I stopped calling them out on it, and that just felt wrong. I was tired," he wrote. "Basically, it just stopped making sense for everyone in the band to keep on doing the band."

Unfortunately for Canino, but fortunately for his fans, the new Latterman spin-off act Shorebirds is sure to attract an even bigger audience. See, Shorebirds aren't just ex-Latterman; they're ex-Jawbreaker. Jawbreaker was well-known for having awesome bass lines (see "Big" from Bivouac, "Accident Prone" from Dear You), courtesy of Chris Bauermeister. The combination of Canino and Bauermeister proved so tantalizing to my brainy bits that I purchased Shorebirds' new self-released seven-inch via mailorder.

With four songs pressed into clear orange vinyl, Shorebirds is a tasty but all too short release. The EP picks up where Latterman left off, just with steadier tempos and drumming. Bauermeister is totally in step with Canino. The playing is pretty tight, with little space for solos or improvisation, and the lyrics continue Canino's personal takes on punk rock and life. In contrast to Latterman, they're much shorter, with far less guitar interplay than the stuff on, say, Turn Up the Punk, although "People I Live With" jams out a little bit.

Opening track "D.O.A." mirrors the weariness Canino mentioned in his post about Latterman breaking up. The lyrics deal with moving away and getting older: "And we're still waiting / for our friends to show up / We're always waiting" goes the chorus. There's no talk about setting back setbacks (to paraphrase Latterman's "Doom! Doom! Doom!"); it's just straight resignation.

The same goes for "Tinctures Are 90% Alcohol," "People I Live With" and "Down in Denver." They're all part of the story of Canino's move out west. Losing friends, wandering cities and quoting Bruce Springsteen ("It's hard to be a saint in the city") are spread throughout the seven-inch, which would be depressing were it not for the sweet, succulent instrumentation. Where "People I Live With" gets somber, "Down in Denver" rocks hard and fast to balance out its images of urban decay.

Shorebirds is a promising seven-inch, satisfying fans of Latterman and Jawbreaker while whetting their (and my) appetite for whatever comes next.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

10feettall (June 13, 2010)

I still love these songs. I also dig the LP. They were great while they lasted.

deadelectromix (June 24, 2008)

Someone informed me they broke up, I am saddened.

thefluxisfluxing (June 13, 2008)

ok i have these songs on my computer but i really want to have the actual 7" in my hands. if anybody knows how i can go about getting one PLEASEE e-mail me!!!!

steveborsky@hotmail.com

please please please!!!

-andrew

deadelectromix (May 21, 2008)

At first I wasn't too keen on this, but then I realized how much better the lyrics were than Latterman's and I fell in love with it. Only complaint I have is the boring drumming/bass. I mean c'mon Chris, I've heard you do much better.

paris_in_flames (May 18, 2008)

this is really fckin good. i've listened to it consistently for about a month now.

travis_x (December 3, 2007)

I am going to miss Latterman dearly, but Shorebirds is definitely going to keep me going.

CCSummers (December 1, 2007)

its good, but kind of just sounds like latterman minus the other singer. i like it, but latterman and jawbreaker better

IanIsSuperRad (November 30, 2007)

Holy shit this is a good 7". All four songs are awesome. I wish someone would rip these songs to mp3 format so I can hear them somewhere other than my room.

Also, my sleeve is blue. It was also covered in neat little drawings and a short sweet letter from Matt inside.

onegirlarmy (November 30, 2007)

good record, I'm psyched to hear more.

punkbytheounce (November 30, 2007)

I like it, but my record player just stops about halfway through the second song. Not their fault, but it means I can't love it.

briennis (November 30, 2007)

Bridge and Tunnel fucking kills it live! So good!

inagreendase (November 30, 2007)

Spot-on review pretty much, though I'd give it a 7.

But this is clearly not as good as either jawbreaker

No kidding! I hope no one expected it to be.

or latterman.

I definitely think this 7" is better than any Latterman release. Though Latterman has, of course, a few songs that beat everything on here.

What're ya'll's thoughts on Bridge and Tunnel, Pat from Latterman's new-ish band? They're playing Siren Records in Doylestown, Pa (which prolly means nothing to like 87.3% of you...) tomorrow, and I'm hopin' for zesty goodness.

Go. Absolutely incredible live, no shitting you.

Jelone (November 30, 2007)

To quote the Org itself:

"
Enterprising youths can mail $4 to Mr. Canino for a copy of their self-released 7" now. You can find the address below by clicking Read More. Expect a review soon.

315 Steele st. NE

Olympia, WA

98506"

Icapped2pac (November 30, 2007)

I think Bridge & Tunnel is pretty damn good, especially "Location x 3".

Icapped2pac (November 30, 2007)

I would love to hear this, and I would also love to listen to my new Ambitions 12" (which I mistakenly ordered instead of the CD), but I can't because my record player needle fell off sometime during my last move. Now, I'm pretty ignorant to vinyl and record players (mine's a Sony from Best Buy I bought about 7 years ago), so I have a question.

HEY VINYLOPHILES!! Is it possible to just buy a replacement needle for my player these days? If so, where could I find such a thing? Or am I screwed and will have to get a new turntable altogether?

Please either answer me here or send some links to sabukweli@hotmail. Thanks.

justinius (November 30, 2007)

where did yous guys order this from?

Jelone (November 30, 2007)

My sleeve's blue. Honestly, though, I was more into the refolded beer box it was shipped in. Canino drew lovely pictures all over the darned thing.

But yeah, the songs are where it's at, and they' re hot, I tells yeah. Can't wait to hear what comes next.

What're ya'll's thoughts on Bridge and Tunnel, Pat from Latterman's new-ish band? They're playing Siren Records in Doylestown, Pa (which prolly means nothing to like 87.3% of you...) tomorrow, and I'm hopin' for zesty goodness.

Woland (November 30, 2007)

i take that back.
the sleeve i have is tan.

whatever.
it doesn't really matter.

SloaneDaley (November 30, 2007)

I really want to hear this, but I'm unsure of how.

Blake needs to start a new band or solo venture right about now. Well okay he doesn't need to but I need him to.

Dante3000 (November 30, 2007)

I have two different colored sleeves, though I can't recall the colors right now, but it's a goldish 7" in both.
Really like this, and for a first release it's damn good.
-Dante

Woland (November 30, 2007)

the sleeve i have is white.

dolorbrigand (November 30, 2007)

got this 7inch in the mail yesterday and haven't stopped spinning it since. It has been very good to my head. nice review.

24HourPriapism (November 30, 2007)

actually, listening to this right now again......"People I Live With" and "Down In Denver" are definitely both winners.

24HourPriapism (November 30, 2007)

as matt himself said in the latterman breakup article, it's time to move on. writing "posi" lyrics when you're having an inner conflict doesn't sit well for an artist. oftentimes, people just stop feeling the way they're feeling. and to carry on a false front at the behest of howling bros who barely get the messages you were trying to convey (see: against me!, rise against, etc) would just be lying to yourself. simpler lyrics, definitely. almost kind of a desperate, adolescent bitterness. but hell, this is barely out of the demo stages, and it's still honest as fuck. and i love how the guitar lines in this are still latterman-esque.

"Down in Denver" fucking rips though. i'd like to hear more tracks like that.

briennis (November 30, 2007)

plus, its awesome as fuck that they self-released this and arent pushing for huge distribution.

briennis (November 30, 2007)

a fairly well-written and spot-on review. i like this better than "We Are Still Alive".

sjj (November 30, 2007)

don't get me wrong this is an awsome 7 inch. But this is clearly not as good as either jawbreaker or latterman. The songs are a lot more simple and a lot less appealing. While they still are good songs, both jawbreaker and latterman songs are better than this. As for the lyrics, thats probably my biggest complaint. I was always such a fan of latterman's lyrics, not only because they were positive, but just because they were also just really well written, shorebirds lyrics just seem to be the simple of the simple. All in all i do like the songs a lot but if somebody had told me that this band was only sixteen years old, i wouldnt really be surprised