Shurman – Still Waiting For the Sunset Review

Posted by Lenny Vowels on 03.08.2010

Alternative country rediscovers its roots. Of course, that doesn't mean it sounds any better.

The members of Shurman have experienced a turbulent music career, to say the least. In the band's 20-year history, they have survived multiple lineup changes while paying the dues of performing over 200 shows a year. Keep in mind that this was all before the band was ever signed to a record label. Now 5 years past releasing their first album and subsequently leaving their first label, they finally seem to have settled on a stable lineup and have released their newest album independently.



Track Listing

1. Is It True
2. Small Town Tragedy
3. Best You Ever Had
4. Here's to Rock-n-Roll
5. She's the One
6. I'm Not Crazy
7. Country Ain't Country
8. Lonesome L.A. Blues
9. Big Things
10. Didn't I?
11. Wonder Where You Are
12. Three Chords

Still Waiting For the Sunset seems to do a good job of chronicling the band's constant relocations from Texas to Georgia to California and back. The heart of the Southland also never seemed to drift away from their music. The drawback of this fact is that the band still sounds somewhat unevolved, despite their longevity. Their vibe sounds like they're playing for the good ol' days back when the singer and original drummer were practicing in the high school garage, which is a shame because their history and hard work should lend them to having something resembling a soul by now.

Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but no song on this album struck me as anything other than “more of the same” and nowhere is the blandness more evident than on the first track “Is It True.” It's one of several songs on the record that manages to sound like every song I've heard during the decade of the 90s, only the influence is stuck in the 70s. “Small Town Tragedy” and “Best You Ever Had” only continue the trend of commonality. The saloon vibe gives me the desire to harken bands such as The Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but their songs had so much impactful meaning to them that it's just unfair to make the comparison.

“She's the One” and “Wonder Where You Are” sound like more songs lost in the past of lovers' laments, while “I'm Not Crazy” hit me with one of the more unusual lyrics I've heard recently: “I'm not crazy; I'm just insane.” What the hell is one supposed to get from a song like that? “Country Ain't Country” sounds like an attempt to get people to understand Shurman's views on where they want the genre to be headed. However, I never felt that country should be fused with hard rock, so it was lost on me.

Two songs did manage to get my attention, for entirely different reasons. The first was “Here's To Rock-n-Roll”, with the lyric “If you don't stand for something, you could fall for anything.” While the quote does seem like a political cry, I find that the universal appeal gives itself to perfectly acceptable songwriting. The second was “Lonesome L.A. Blues,” mainly for the musical structure as lead singer Aaron Beavers opts to play his acoustic in a solo effort for the song. It's also a very telling song about the band's trials of moving out west and getting lost in the shuffle of big name bands in California, while also trying their damndest to retain their roots in a part of the nation that doesn't believe in the twang.

The rest of the songs are unfortunately neither here nor there. The same lack of oomph that adorns the rest of the album manages to creep its way towards the end as well. Production wise, the album sounds fine for what it is, but maybe that's the problem I've always had with modern country: nothing really has any emphasis to it. The strength of a country record really needs to rely on its singer, and while Beavers is competent enough, he really needs to work on the passion in his songwriting. His desire just isn't present in his vocals.

The 411: It hurts me to give the album such a mediocre grade, because this is a band that I was really hoping to enjoy. Anyone who liked their previous album Jubilee may get a kick out of Sunset, but the album just didn't hit home for yours truly. I'll give Shurman their props for being one of the hardest working bands that I've ever seen that hasn't made enough of a name for themselves yet. If this is their launching pad, then so be it, but let's just hope their follow-up will really be able to set the world on fire. I'm hoping for big things for the quartet.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]