Shannon and the Clams

Last updated

Shannon and the Clams
The Black Keys 22-Nov-2019 05.jpg
Shannon and the Clams live at Portland, Oregon (Moda Center) 22-Nov-2019. From left to right: Will Sprott, Nate Mahan, Cody Blanchard and Shannon Shaw.
Background information
Origin Oakland, California, United States
Genres
Years active2007 (2007)–present
Labels1-2-3-4 Go! Records, Hardly Art, Easy Eye Sound
Members
  • Shannon Shaw
  • Cody Blanchard
  • Nate Mahan
  • Will Sprott
Website shannonandtheclams.com

Shannon and the Clams is an indie garage punk quartet based in Oakland, California. Known for a vintage sound that incorporates elements of doo-wop, classic R&B, garage psych, and surf, Shannon and the Clams has drawn comparisons to both Buddy Holly and 1960s girl groups. [1] They are also said to love "music from '50s oldies to '80s punk". [2]

Contents

History

The band includes vocals from bassist Shannon Shaw, guitarist Cody Blanchard, and keyboardist Will Sprott, along with drums by Nate Mahan. Shaw and Blanchard met at the California College of the Arts, where they began performing together. [3] Shaw is also a member of queercore punk outfit Hunx and His Punx. [4] Sprott is very active outside the band releasing solo records and touring with Shana Cleveland.

Shannon and the Clams' debut album, I Wanna Go Home, was released in 2009. In 2011, the group followed up with their sophomore effort, Sleep Talk. [5] Their third album, Dreams in the Rat House, was released in May 2013. [6]

Their album Gone by the Dawn is described by Still in Rock as "the most beautiful manifestation in recent years of what I would call the 'Elvis Presley culture'". [7]

Released in 2018, Onion was Shannon and the Clams' first release on Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound label. [8] Auerbach also produced the album. [9] Their sixth album, Year of the Spider, was released in 2021.

Their seventh album, The Moon is in the Wrong Place, was released in 2024. All of the songs were heavily inspired by the death of Shaw's fiancé Joe Haener, who died in a car accident in 2022 just weeks before the pair's wedding [10] . The name of the album came from something that Haener had said to Shaw shortly before his death during a conversation about astrology.

Reception

A reviewer at Still in Rock stated that their "shows are among the best in the world, with an inexhaustible spirit and a musical style with no equivalent. Its influence on the independent scene is one of the greatest, together with Ty Segall and very few others." [2]

A reviewer at Punknews.org wrote that Shannon and the Clams has the "sound of a prom band in 1964 getting dosed with acid and having the sweetest lovelorn freak out. Imagine a brawling Etta James, backed up by the 13th Floor Elevators singing Shangri La's tunes." [11] The Chicago Reader's Jessica Hopper described Shannon and the Clams as "something from a John Waters lucid dream... complete with horny teenage anthems that walk the line between greasy, frantic 50s rock 'n' roll and innocent, hip-swinging 60s pop." [4]

In an effusive review of Onion, Allison Wolfe wrote: "Reminiscent of the Collins Kids, both Shannon and Cody's voices mingle and soar, and I often can't tell their beautiful articulations apart. No matter – this is a gorgeously sincere and infectious body of work that I can't put down." [12]

Band members

Guest Members

Discography

Studio albums

AlbumYear
I Wanna Go Home2009
Sleep Talk2011
Dreams in the Rat House2013
Gone by the Dawn2015
Onion 2018
Year of the Spider2021
The Moon is in the Wrong Place2024

Singles and EPs

EPsYear
Hunk Hunt2010
Paddy's Birthday2010
...Ruin Christmas2010
SinglesYear
"Gremlins Crawl" / "White Rabbit"2012
"Ozma / Angel Baby"2012
"Ozma / Muppet Babies"2012
"Mama"2014
"Mines of lo"2017

References

  1. Leggett, Steve. "Shannon and the Clams - Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved June 26, 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 "Interview: Shannon and the Clams". StillInRock. February 27, 2014. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  3. Huston, Johnny Ray (June 23, 2010). "SCENE: Shannon and the Clams open up". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Hopper, Jessica (April 2011). "Hunx & His Punx, Shannon & the Clams, Mickey". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  5. Douglas, Martin (April 20, 2011). "Shannon and the Clams: Sleep Talk". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  6. Douglas, Martin (May 21, 2013). "Shannon and the Clams: Dreams in the Rat House". Pitchfork.
  7. "Album Review: Shannon and the Clams – Gone by the Dawn". StillInRock. September 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  8. "Easy Eye Sound: Shannon & the Clams". Easy Eye Sound. 2018. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  9. "Shannon and The Clams Triumph Over Tragedy on New Album". OnTapOnline. On Tap Magazine. July 20, 2018. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  10. "Bio". Shannon & The Clams. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  11. "Shannon and the Clams". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  12. Wolfe, Allison (February 28, 2018). "Peeling Back the Layers of Shannon and the Clams' Onion". Talkhouse . Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.