By Amanda Hu
Apparently, mixing sangria, pee buckets and abandoned houses produces something surprising: Ladyhawk’s sophomore album, Shots. To be more accurate, the Vancouver-based rocker group recorded the album in a dishevelled house in their hometown of Kelowna over the course of two weeks, which definitely comes across in the scrappy-yet-emotional sound of the tracks.
Starting off the CD is the heavy “I Don’t Always Know What You’re Saying.” Low-key verses set a dark scene and flow into the more intense choruses, featuring frontman Duffy Driediger’s loud, in-your-face words led by explosive drum fills.
“Faces Of Death” takes the album down a different road, with Driediger floating into the track with a muted distortion. Minimal drums and bass are cut with accentuated guitar riffs, making for a plodding, defeated feel.
After taking a trip through Driediger’s slow despair, “You Ran” kicks the tempo up with driven drums, distorted guitar and chorus-like vocals that leads into the creeping 10 and a half minute ending track, “Ghost Blues.” The listener is left with a definite impression as the first slow, mellow song melds into a shredding shuffle jam session with various solos and powerful vocals fading off into an understated acoustic finish.
With Shots, Ladyhawk creates a nuanced slice of disaffected depression. Catchy rock tracks and slowed down bluesy ballads convey all the feelings of the album with refreshing variety.