The Shondes

All Music Guide:

The Shondes (pronounced Shahn-duhs) are a four-piece indie rock group based out of the western Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. They rock a unique sound that combines '90s queercore and riot grrrl power with traditional Jewish music and dramatic, rich vocals. It's the sound of distortion, melody, feminism, and sociopolitical concerns being mixed and pumped passionately out of cranked-up amps, and it earned the group comparisons to Sleater-Kinney and other likeminded acts. Guitarist/vocalist Ian Brannigan, violinist/vocalist Elijah Oberman, and bassist/vocalist Louisa Rachel Solomon all met while studying at Manhattan's New School, and they came across drummer/vocalist Temim Fruchter while protesting the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. By 2006, the four had formed the Shondes, taking their name from the Yiddish word for "shame" or "disgrace." The band's live performance was a big part of its existence from early on; the group took part in festivals like Canada's North by Northeast and Olympia, WA's Homo A Go Go, in addition to crossing stages with groups like Electrelane, Joe Lally (of Fugazi fame), Erase Errata, and the Saints. The Shondes self-released their debut album, The Red Sea, in early January 2008, which was recorded at Brooklyn's Studio G with Pere Ubu's Tony Maimone at the controls. In November 2008, Brannigan left the band to be replaced by guitarist Fureigh. My Dear One followed in 2010.

Wikipedia:

The Shondes are an indie punk band from Brooklyn, NY, best known for their brand of pop-rock, featuring Jewish influences and radical political messages, and for organizing and performing at benefit events for organizations such as Birthright Unplugged, Jews Against the Occupation, and The Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

History

The Shondes formed in early 2006 after violinist Elijah Oberman and bassist Louisa Rachel Solomon's former band, The Syndicate broke up. They recruited guitarist Ian Brannigan, a friend they had met while the three attended The New School in Greenwich Village as undergraduates, and drummer Temim Fruchter whom the three are said to have met while protesting the Republican National Convention in 2004. They have shared the stage with Uh Huh Her, Electrelane, Rasputina, MEN, Caithlin De Marrais (Rainer Maria) Franz Nicolay (The Hold Steady), Mary Timony (Helium, Wild Flag), Erase Errata, Amy Ray (The Indigo Girls), Joe Lally (Fugazi), Mecca Normal, Bonfire Madigan, Party Line, Lesbians on Ecstasy, Kaia Wilson (Team Dresch) and more. The band has performed at festivals including CMJ Music Festival in New York City, South By Southwest in Austin, TX, North By Northeast in Toronto, ON and others.

Two demo EPs were distributed on national tours in summer 2006 and spring 2007 and at South By Southwest in 2007.

The Shondes self-released their debut LP The Red Sea on January 8, 2008. It was recorded at Studio G in Brooklyn and produced by Tony Maimone of Pere Ubu and They Might Be Giants. The album features guest appearances by Brian Dewan on keyboards and was met with positive reviews.

In the fall of 2008, the band embarked on a nationwide tour in support of The Red Sea. Their emotional and energetic live set caused one critic to comment that "On paper, this band sounds like a train wreck, but in real life they are completely arresting....Old-world romance elegantly intertwined with riot grrrl piss and vinegar onstage...A lot of valid arguments have been made against overtly mixing politics and music — it takes the focus off important things like rhythm or, worse, excuses a band’s lack of talent or imagination. But those arguments don’t apply to bands whose politics become inseparable from the emotive quality of their sound."

In December 2008 Brannigan was replaced by new guitarist Fureigh. The new lineup made its debut at JDub Records' annual "Jewltide" Christmas Eve party at Southpaw in Brooklyn.

At the beginning of May 2010, the Shondes released their second album My Dear One on Fanatic Records. The band toured nationally to support the album, beginning at South By Southwest in March 2010, though June 2010, receiving favorable critical response along the way.

In Fall 2010, The Shondes announced that their violinist, Elijah Oberman, had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. This resulted in the cancellation of a 7-week European tour. In early 2011, the band announced plans to move forward with performances at SXSW 2011, recording a new album (Searchlights, to be released in Fall 2011), and tour plans following the new record's release.

In August 2011, The Shondes announced that they had parted ways with Fanatic Records and would be releasing Searchlights on Exotic Fever Records on September 20, 2011. They toured nationally throughout September and October of that year, and ended the tour with a performance at a CMJ showcase in Brooklyn. They toured again on Searchlights beginning with a packed week of shows at SXSW 2012 in March through the end of May 2012.

Influence of Judaism

Of My Dear One, The Jewish Forward said: "They are a Jewish band, and they’re playing klezmer modalities and time signatures, but you could not know any of that and still think the song you’re listening to is the best song you’ve heard in years." Heeb Magazine said that The Shondes' mix of confrontational political punk and Jewish music created "a powerful new sound" and included Fruchter as one of "the Heeb 100" in 2007, while the magazine's blog asserted that in the contemporary Jewish music scene "it is quite possible that the Shondes are making the only music that truly matters" and called The Red Sea "the most anticipated Jewish record of the year." In June 2010, The Shondes were included in The Big Jewcy.

The Red Sea features the song "I Watched the Temple Fall", one of the first songs the band wrote together, which arose from conversations about the meaning of the Jewish holiday Tisha B'Av. The members of the band work with the New York City activist group Jews Against the Occupation, an organization "advocating peace through justice for Palestine and Israel." Almost since its inception, the band has stirred controversy for the members' outspoken radical politics, particularly those centered around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Critical response

In their "Singles Swap" column, Entertainment Weekly compared the band to The Go-Go's and described their "Giddy garage melodics with Sleater-Kinney twist." -Entertainment Weekly

"A touch of Bruce Springsteen, a touch of Nashville, and plenty of gritty ’90s pop punk imparting the feel of an instant classic." -MTV Iggy

"radical politics, power-pop melodies, traditional Jewish music, and punk vitriol." -Pitchfork

The Shondes make bold, brassy lonely-heart rock with the snarl and swoon of classic '90s Northwestern indie—all riot grrl bluster, K Records sentimentality, and a keening, wailing violin that's more Nirvana Unplugged than Raincoats unhinged....Separating themselves from Sleater-come-latelys, the Shondes have a little bit of steampunky clatter underneath their crunching riffs and a keen ear towards the Jewish music that raised each of its four members. -The Village Voice

“Miami,” which starts off with Solomon angrily demanding, “Did you leave me on Venice Beach?” over rumbling drums, is about a very specific breakup, but — like all great songs — it could be about anyone being abandoned, anywhere. They are a Jewish band, and they’re playing klezmer modalities and time signatures, but you could not know any of that and still think the song you’re listening to is the best song you’ve heard in years. -The Forward

Complex song structures intertwined with direct, inquisitive lyrics...It's haunting and it's eerie, yet it's rousing. The Shondes are a twisted carnival film noir come true. —CMJ

"The Red Sea," is a visceral work...their moody songs are redolent of a time in the early '80s when punk fractured into something more tuneful and complex...a political band whose music is as strong as its message is a rare treat. -The Chicago Tribune

Riot grrrl radicalism wed to classically structured songs, distortion pedals, clashing vocals, and powerful lyrics. -The Village Voice

Ready for an indie break out....radical politics, inspired riffs, textured harmonies and pure sex appeal. -Curve Magazine

This is a band that rocks as if they just don't give a fuck but has crafted their art in a manner that shows they clearly do. -Earfarm

Old-world romance elegantly intertwined with Riot Grrrl piss + vinegar... —Venus

Much critical response has focused on the unique performance style of each member. Louisa Rachel Solomon had been called "a front-woman to fear and fall in love with." A reviewer at The Shondes' Atlanta stop on their 2008 Fall tour commented that Solomon "charged at the mic as if to push the song forward with her body." The same reviewer said that Elijah Oberman "played...violin with such physicality that he sometimes crumpled almost to the ground around his instrument." Another reviewer commented that "Elijah Oberman has that rare mastery of post-punk violin playing that only seems to come along once in a generation."