Album Review: Shallow Side - Saints & Sinners

Here's a question for you; does anyone know what's going on with mainstream rock in 2019? I'm assuming you said no, because that's my answer too. This year has been remarkably quiet on that front, without a single song I can think of that has made itself known to people who aren't devoted to following the radio playlists. Last year we at least had Ghost and Halestorm that got a lot of attention. This year has been barren. That might play well for Shallow Side, as after delay, their new album is not only going up against very little competition, but it might sound fresher than usual given how little of the style I've had to hear so far. Let's take a look.

Thankfully, Shallow Side is still playing things straight as a rock band. They have not been tricked into absorbing the Imagine Dragons style of 'rock', nor are they playing the tuneless slush that passes for rock and roll to people who grew up thinking grunge was happy time music. These southerners sit in the comfortable middle ground between hard and southern rock, sort of where Black Stone Cherry started out before they started chasing the top of the charts.

The title track is essentially a blues track, with a swampy atmosphere leading into the bursts of big guitars. It gives the album some balance, when put alongside "Sound The Alarm", which is a fantastic radio single. That track has a big, propulsive hook to go along with the groovy riff. It's the sort of song that makes an obvious single, except for the fact there's not much that sounds like it currently getting any traction. Everything today is either so dark, or so electronic, that a traditional and catchy rock song feels unusual. I suppose that's part of how Ghost has become so successful.

So now that we've established what Shallow Side are doing, how are they doing it? Well, that's a bit harder to judge. They've got some great songs, but there's also times when the southern and blues influences don't quite mesh with the more upbeat hooks. Not to the point where it detracts from the record, but it isn't quite as well-integrated as it could be. I'm reminded a bit of the album a few years ago from One Less Reason, "The Memories Uninvited". I get the same feeling from this record as I did from that one, but the difference is One Less Reason's sound felt more well-honed, and their songwriting never once faltered. That record was fantastic from start to finish, while this one has ebbs and flows.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that Shallow Side has made a record that is good, very good in spots, but isn't yet great. They've got some great songs, which shows they have the talent to make that kind of essential record, but they still need to dig inside themselves and figure out exactly what thread is the one to pull. But, given the state of mainstream rock right now, "Saints & Sinners" stands up to anything else so far in 2019. It isn't a perfect record, but it's plenty good enough.