Customer Reviews

We Want Jelly Donuts

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If you don't have chills down your spine by the end of the first verse of "Telepathic World", you aren't a true fan of well-crafted pop/rock. Here, Mitch Easter channels familiar spirits (Joe Osborn's bass playing, Hal Blaine's drumming and the sonic grandeur of The Ventures) while Shalini's deadpan, yet somehow coy vocal delivery lends the tasteful ironic twist to the swirling audioscape. Exciting and varied musical refreshments abound on this record.

In case you did not know, Shalini is the wife of Mitch Easter. She was originally in the band Vinyl Devotion which is brilliant indy-pop. Her solo stuff does have Mitch Easter on guitars, and in many ways the sound is Let's Active--not in a derivative way but rather an extension and natural progression. Shalini is one of the best bass players araound, and her song writing is equally strong. All of her releases are great fun and a must have for true indy fans.

Let's Active was the band fronted by guitarist/songwriter/producer Mitch Easter in the mid-80's. They were, in their heyday (say, 1984) criminally underrated; Mitch wove beautiful shimmering, chiming guitars over memorable pop landscapes. Mitch plays in Shalini's band, produced the record, and wrote half the material. "Telepathic World" strikes me as particularly beautiful.

Vinyl Devotion was fronted by Shalini. Their CD "Floor Model" was mostly produced by Mitch and written by Shalini; her songs usually combine a punk-like minimalism and directness with classic pop hooks. Good stuff. She's got a real feel for this music, though her voice leaves a bit to be desired. She writes half the songs here; "Creepy Emily" strikes me as a classic.

The record's a few songs shy of being "solid" but about half of it's startlingly good stuff. I definitely also recommend "Floor Model", and for that matter Let's Active's "Cypress" (sadly out-of-print) to anyone who loves pop-rock.

An interesting blend of straight-forward grrl-writer/singer rockin' and a more mature take on southern jangle a la the 80's heydays, thanks both to Shalini and Mitch Easter (who penned 4 of the tracks & produced), respectively. It works!