Shoebox Letters - Treasure Map (click on image to watch video)

 24 November 2020

 Their latest musical missive opens with the tick-tock twang of “Drinking More Without You.” Over brash guitar riffs, walking bass lines, supple keys and a rattle-trap beat, Dennis admits he’s “drinking more, but I’m empty just the same.” Every song’s a winner here, from the  meandering shuffle of the title track, the sad-sack lament of “First Step” and the cautious optimism of “Wait And See.” 

  On “Second Guessing,” Dennis plays  a reluctant Romeo insisting, “I don’t want to fall  in love, I don’t want to fall to pieces, I don’t want to be tied down, I don’t want to be spoken for.” The EP wraps up with the yearning “I’m No Good At Walking Away.” Intertwined acoustic and electric guitars are matched by searing pedal steel, tensile bass, feathery keys and a kick-drum beat. Despite some equivocation, the song begins and ends with  the same resolute verse; “I got a ticket in my pocket for a nowhere train, I reserved a seat in one name  and it isn’t yours.”

  This band manages the neat trick of sounding  fresh and familiar at the same time. “Treasure Map” takes the listener to some  uncharted territory, but it feels like going home.

Eleni P. Austin - I was born into a large, loud Greek family and spent my formative years in the Los Angeles enclaves of Laurel Canyon and Los Feliz. My mother moved us to the Palm Springs area just in time for puberty and Disco.  I have spent over 40 years working in record stores, starting back in High School.

I wrote music reviews for the Desert Sun from 1983 to 1988. I began doing the same for the Coachella Valley Weekly in 2012.

I live in Palm Springs with my wife and our amazing dog, Denver. 

To Read All of Eleni P.'s Reviews, Click Here

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