A fresh full-length album just dropped from Shyness Boy and it shines with inventive songwriting, a soirée of textured synths and a massive soundscape.
The self-titled Shyness Boy album goes through some personal and honest motions and really brings a wild palette of genres together in an incredibly smooth way.
The record boasts some jazzy undertones to go right along with its heavy indie-pop feels and psychedelia infused with strings, guitars, and swelling pads to paint vivid pictures with music.
This was an ultra-creative release that displays such an amazing testament to a youth in songwriters out there that are just doing things their own way.
This came through with a gorgeous tonality and a unique way of blending sounds together to create an atmosphere that stands alone.
The key player has heart and the guitar work and vocals are really tasteful and performed with a perfect little swagger that fits all too well.
There is pretty much something for everyone on this album and it's nearly perfect in terms of a recording that feels free in its own right.
With such a beautiful release, we wanted to have a chat with Shyness Boy to find out where this album came from and where it may be going.
BuzzSlayers: Okay so let's start things off with the self titled album. This record has a massive palette of sounds and rock ambience. Where did this album come from?
It’s hard to say really.The inspirations for the songs are varied but the one thing connecting them is the era in which they were written. It all stems from an era in which we, like many other people our age, were beginning to feel the weight of our failure to truly progress into what previous generations would call "being an adult." A lot of it is about feelings of inadequacy, of feeling stuck in a pattern. The album was recorded in earnest between 2018 and 2020, but the bulk of it was done last year. That was a fun learning experience! Much of those sessions were a mix of fear and excitement. The world felt as if it had truly begun its current disastrous trajectory (or completing one). Perhaps some of the vibes made their way into the recordings.
BuzzSlayers: I'm certainly hearing some different styles mixed in on this one. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
It's so cliche to say The Beatles, but they're really a huge part of our DNA. A lot of our youth was split between listening to 60's British Invasion, Motown, the Beach Boys (especially Pet Sounds), 70's classic rock and AM radio pop hits, and 90's indie rock and alternative. Some of the biggest bands for us growing up were Radiohead, Blur, Smashing Pumpkins, Pavement, Nirvana (of course), and the list goes on. It's hard to say exactly what made its way onto our album, but we are sure some of it is there.
BuzzSlayers: How did this all start for you guys?
We've been writing songs together since we were in middle school. We played in a band together for over a decade before the pressures of capitalism caused us to hit pause for a few years. At some point we naturally gravitated back to writing together. It's in our nature. It's part of our lifelong friendship. It's what we do. What made this experience different is that instead of relying on other bandmates to help us fill in certain musical gaps we made most of it happen for ourselves. Dennis engineered a majority of it and mixed all of it. Together we performed a majority of the music but with a little help from our drummer friends and a pianist friend. We often joked this was our chance to work like Steely Dan.
BuzzSlayers: Do you do any live performances?
Right before we went into lockdown we performed our first show with the help of two of our friends. Recently we've been discussing performing again and we are ramping up our rehearsals at the moment. We're not sure if we will perform in a stripped down fashion or with a full band. We also have this new Covid wave looming, so it's difficult to plan things in earnest.
BuzzSlayers: What kind of things inspire you to write?
A lot of times it comes from us absorbing whatever we're obsessed with, sharing them with each other, jamming out, and generally hanging out. From there themes emerge from whatever we've been thinking about or feeling. It's as if the songs magically appear when we are simply hanging out as friends. Another thing that motivates us is making art that we would otherwise like from other artists. We get a kick out of feeling like we made something with the same care, craft and creativity as people we respect. The “Three C’s of Personal Fulfillment”
BuzzSlayers: Do you write songs together in the studio?
Sometimes. We did write quite a few things for this album in the studio. The other half came from our normal, spontaneous hang-out writing sessions.
BuzzSlayers: Can we expect any music videos coming from you guys next year?
We are in the midst of brainstorming something really special. We have a certain up-and-coming artist in mind for this one.
BuzzSlayers: What's next for you as a band? Is there anything new in the works even now?
It's hard to say. We are in a strange place at the moment. We're bouncing between practicing in anticipation of finally performing and writing the next crop of songs, which is super exciting because so far the new stuff is sounding sweet.
BuzzSlayers: What are you all doing when you're NOT working on music?
Working. Spending time with friends and family. Maintaining our anxiety. Trying to balance our news consumption with art and music. Long walks on the beach. Trying not to get Covid. You know, new normal stuff.
BuzzSlayers: This album feels like a big undertaking. What kind of advice would you have for other up and coming bands out there?
We got really good advice from a friend from another band called Draag. He said, "don't stop working on your album until you're satisfied with it. Try not to have any regrets about it." Time will tell whether we have any regrets but we know we worked hard to make something we are proud of with the limited resources at our disposal. If there is anything we really learned from this experience, it's to push yourself creatively as much as possible within whatever your constraints are. Those conditions tend to lead to fertile creative grounds.
BuzzSlayers: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
We really appreciate listening to our music in any capacity. It’s hard to sit with new artists for a lot of people, so it means even more to us in an era of hyper-saturation. It’s so exciting to know a melody or idea that started in your head can end up being something someone else digs. That will never get old.