The Here Now, Shotgun Dancer, CD Review

I love well-crafted lyrics which lead you to seek not only their literal meaning, but also challenge you to find the hidden reasons behind which they were written. That is what you will get with The Here Now’s EP release, Shotgun Dancer. This disc offers a five song collection of strongly written poetic and mellow songs, delivered perfectly by talented instrumentalists that are obviously in tune with each other.

The Here Now open up their set with a descriptive tune called, “Emily,” which appears to be about two people who are both lost in a huge world divided by tall buildings, wars, pollution, and bigger things, yet are still able to come together and find love. Anyways, that’s my interpretation. I recommend you listen for yourself, because “Emily” is one of the better songs I’ve heard in a while.

I was also more than pleased with the equally strong ballad, “Nothing Will Change.” I like the unexpected minor chord changes and realistic production on this song. As with many of the tunes on this disc, “Nothing Will Change” isn’t overly complicated. It’s just an effectively simple, really well written song.

Another of my favorites in this collection is, “The Wound.” The acoustic guitar picking is quite good and unique. Again, the listener is treated to colorfully illustrative lyrics carried dramatically by the ambient performance of the band.

It’s groups like The Here Now that require a listener to dive deeper into the music. You won’t find any shallow pop tunes on this CD. What you’ll find is much better than that. The lyrics are just about as good as it gets, and the five piece band is tight, subtle, and very effective at delivering the right level of emotion to frame these fantastically written tunes. I hope the band is busy writing more songs, as I’ll need more than five tunes to satisfy the welcome urge that Shotgun Dancer has created.

Artist Website: www.myspace.com/theherenowmusic

Review By: ListenersGeneration.com