Written
by Raymond Burris, posted by blog admin
Shofar’s
initial run in the early 2000’s sparked a great deal of deserved attention as
the band, led by singer and songwriter Larry Hagner, married a compelling rock
sound with a definite spiritually minded message without seeming like a pulpit
blocked their guitars, drums, and basses. They have returned after a long
absence with a self-titled EP release that shows they have further refined that
balance they so artfully achieved on initial recordings. This new release is
well in keeping with the Minneapolis area’s long standing reputation as a musical
nerve center and puts forward a band who is more than capable of entrancing
their audience with considered lyrical ideas and messages alongside gripping
musical works. The new EP re-launches their recording careers quite effectively
with a thoroughly modern sound that still makes great use of familiar effects .
“Running”
gets the EP off to a fast start. This is one of the EP’s best mixes of light
and shadow as it builds from a brief keyboard driven introduction into crushing
riffage before settling into much more melodic verses. There’s no question that
this is all-out rock with some singing from Hagner that shows equal parts
abandon and adventurousness, but Shofar gives audiences a gripping listen.
“Powerman” is cut from a much more classic cloth and has some echoes of The
Beatles and The Kinks in its presentation. Just the right amount of backing
vocals make this a further enjoyable tune and the light, commercially-minded
melodicism of the tune helps win over listeners as well. There’s a bit more
rock power being channeled with significant passages in the tune “Shades of
Grey”, but they never get anywhere near the bulldozing heights of the EP’s
first track. Hagner’s quite comfortable working in a singer/songwriter vein and
few songs make that more apparent.
“Hands
Down” is going to be a rousing live number for the band that’s guaranteed to
score some heavy audience participation. It has the sort of wide swing and
swagger we haven’t heard from the EP’s earlier cuts and Hagner takes over the
lyric with a cool confidence that elevates the lyric a few extra notches. They
indulge themselves with some apocalyptic warning in the song “Countdown”, but
the songwriting point of view is implied rather than belabored and it makes for
an entertaining, though chilling, listen. “The Coming” doesn’t tumble head
first into a morass of self indulgence, as it likely would have in a lesser
band’s hands, but it’s definitely a piece where Hagner and Shofar see fit to
stretch themselves a little to excellent effect. It concludes Shofar’s
“comeback” EP with an emphatic musical statement that seems to say, yes, they
can get any audience up off their feet and moving, but songs like “The Coming”
are in their future as well because they are emboldened by the conviction they
have something important to say. And say it they shall.
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