To stand in the rotten sand of Coney Island on a dark winter's afternoon looking back at the haunting silence of the abandoned carnival would be a sour sight. The Shondes, a three-quarters transgendered and three-quarters Jewish band from Brooklyn that takes its name from the Yiddish word for "shame," must've spent a great deal of time pondering this raw wasteland. The driving politico band weaves their personal tales of tragedy with a soaring, near-inspirational sentimentality, culling emotions from their shared struggle to define their identities in a society with no room for them. At times, the Shondes conjure comparisons to post-punk's volatile spark on songs like "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "Let's Go," and yet they seem most inspired when the orchestra kicks in on "Your Monster" and "The Start Of Everything" as walls of shiver-inducing, epic violins crescendo. Louisa Rachel Solomon's vocals are strong, nimble and graceful on the band's self-released debut, which sees both complex song structures intertwined with direct, inquisitive lyrics. The result is an album rich in saw-tooth guitars, pummeling rhythms and an undeniably anthemic spirit. It's haunting and it's eerie, yet it's rousing. The Shondes are a twisted carnival film noir come true.

Tracklist For The Red Sea:

01. Don't Look Down
02. Your Monster
03. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
04. Winter
05. Let's Go
06. I Watched The Temple Fall
07. At The Water
08. What Love Is
09. The Mother And The Colony
10. Don't Whisper
11. The Start Of Everything

www.shondes.com

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