The Shantics | Stevie Nicks | Single Review

     Stevie Nicks. She produced some cracking music in her career, didn’t she? But now the Gold Dust Woman has seen the Silver Springs of retirement after The Chain she had with the music industry snapped, she claims she is Never Going Back. Truthfully, this post has nothing to do with the Fleetwood Mac star, I just like puns.

   More topically: The Shantics, a four-piece indie rock band from the capital, have recently released a new tune, unsurprisingly titled Stevie Nicks. With menacingly wonderful riffs and enrapturing basslines, the song detonates from the stocks and maintains magnificence throughout. The band display a spikey sound with intensity like no other: the kind that surges adrenaline through the deepest of your veins. Aggressive in tone yet pleasurable to the ear, Stevie Nicks adopts a style from bands such as VANT and Blur and develops it into The Shantics’ own sweet, sweet sound. Describing Stevie Knicks, who in this song is a mischievous man (and I assume not a transgender version of previously mentioned Stevie), the lead singer tells that “his sweet talk could turn you diabetic.” With lyrics like that, it’s easy to see why The Shantics are making a ripple in the musical waters, and makes it difficult to understand why they are currently quite so unnoticed by many.

    Excited to check them out yet? You haven’t heard who they are working with. Jake Gosling: known for his links with Ed Sheeran, James Bay and The Libertines, to name a few. That’s not to take anything away from the lads themselves, however. Without a doubt they are packed tightly with talent, topped off with the natural beauty of stage presence and the ability to atmospherically alter a venue. Generating an ever-growing following on their Instagram and Twitter, The Shantics are paving their way to the top as if they are some godly lyrical stone masons. Stevie Nicks isn’t the only evidence for this, either.  

   The bands’ debut tune, Maybe I, is another masterpiece, displaying the plethora of ability from the London lot. But although recognizable in style, it shows the immense diversity they possess, with similar sounds to Razorlight, in collaboration with Kings of Leon. This majestically compliments their original, freshly squeezed sound, as if from the fruit of the music tree. Don’t cringe too hard, I beg. All joking aside, and despite the earliness of their careers, the capability to keep music sounding similar yet different is a significant asset for any artist. Even some of the greatest musicians fail to do so. I’m looking at you, Alex Turner.

   Potential ridden The Shantics are admirable. So rather than admiring them through the electronically derived sound of them via earphones, get yourself down to the Nambucca in London, June 1^st. You’ll get to see them perform with Hello Operator. Even if you’re not interested in their co-hosts, I’m sure the admission fee is a small price to pay for such genius.

Listen to the track on all platforms here!

Review by Sam Hatherley
Photos: @moeeztali - Photographer
@geoffkcooper - Stylist @nikita_andrianova - Creative Director @hd.hairstylist - Hair Stylist