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Diamond YouthComing out of Baltimore, Richmond and Chicago, this alternative rocking quartet embrace their DIY attitude and leap out of the gates with another fine extended player consisting of six songs which sizzle and crackle with energy.  Acknowledging their influences in the forms of Weezer, Foo Fighters and the Beach Boys is certainly making sense when you hear their sound.  Perhaps without realizing it, they have also adopted the spirit of bands like Baby Chaos, Silver Sun and to a certain extent Honeycrack too, all of which no longer exist.  This is no bad thing it has to be said as those former musical units of power and hook-laden magic offered up some real gems in their time.

Red Water doesn’t mess around as Shake cranks the guitars up.  Within its beating heart, the psychedelic verses give way to a punchy chorus.  The second track called Can’t Shake the Feeling really captures the momentum of what they can produce, a real highlight.  There’s a punk explosion which they call Maryland Ice Cream and this is juxtaposed by a song like Don’t Feel Real which floats on the leftovers of some ’60’s drug, or perhaps a drifting gas cloud that escaped an open window of a local laboratory.  Either way, it’s a groovy moment compressed into a mere two minutes and six seconds.

If you’re a person with a short attention span and if you’re looking for a band which doesn’t care what is trendy and fashionable, then you should knock on their door.  You may be greedy and want personality and a self-confident swagger too. Throw into the cauldron some pop sensibility and plenty of zest and you’d still be highly satisfied!  Shake is equal parts fun and doesn’t overstay its welcome producing nothing longer than Can’t Shake the Feeling which is around the four-minute mark.  Put this on repeat and pretend it’s the ’60’s with distortion.

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