The Shakes

The Shakes write pretty songs about things they hate. They like holding hands, long walks on the beach, and sunsets.
"This L.A. quartet has a severe hard-on for British pop circa the mid-60s. With their great assimilation of classic Who and Kinks, right down to Brit accents on the vocals and sympathetic instrumentation, they'll leave hardcore power pop fans with a big smile on their faces. The Shakes score high with authentic efforts at assembling a group of songs that feel great. With all the lame bands resurrecting the worst aspects of the 80s, bands like the Shakes have got it absolutely right. Chills-down-the-spine stuff!" -- Pop Culture Press
"For many years, the Shakes have warded off fame with an anonymous-sounding, generic band name and a morbidly sarcastic form of self-deprecation that usually keeps the hipsters at bay — even as relatively recent bands like the White Stripes have broken out with some of those same garage-rock influences. That’s why it’s so satisfying that the Shakes have finally fulfilled their pure-pop potential with the minor (and possibly — time will tell — major) masterpiece, The Rise and Fall of Modern Living (Teenacide), where Peter Gilabert’s ambitious song cycle about the streets of Silver Lake is fleshed out with lavish string and horn arrangements that often evoke Love’s Forever Changes. The Shakes’ tunes encompass Big Star yearning and Monkees brightness, laced with the typically black humor of Gilabert (keeping one step ahead of invading yuppies on “Gentrification Blues”) and ex–Redd Kross drummer Janet Housden (singing the deceptively pretty, wickedly unsentimental child-hating ballad “Little Babies”). These are some great Shakes." -- L.A. Weekly
"I loved The Shakes last release, with its lighthearted, bouncy pop deliverd with sincerity to rival Jonathan Richman. And, in general, I hate when a band goes from themes like changing the world with songs about girls to more "serious" topics. And I almost always hate concept albums. But guess what? Peter Gilabert is such a good songwriter, and the band does such a brilliant job of melding the more intellectual side of The Kinks with the more innocent side of The Modern Lovers, that you can't help but love every moment of The Rise and Fall of Modern Living. One of my favorite bands right now." -- Razorcake
"The Rise & Fall Of Modern Living is like a turntable souvenir of every drunken party, pursued flirtation, and sidelong anxiety common to the farthest fringes of the old scene; one of the most startlingly accomplished collections of late 2006." -- City Beat
"I haven’t spent much time in L.A. in the past decade so I’m not sure what’s happening down there (at least architecturally) but The Shakes are and they’re mad as hell about it! THE RISE AND FALL….. apparently is about the gentrification of the Silverlake community (went to Spaceland once) and that’s all well and good but what I dig most about this record are the tunes! The Shakes released a record a few years back on the Teenacide label (GIGANTES DEL POP ) but I don’t remember it being this good. In “On My Street” they wonder about the future of their ‘hood but it’s all done with a veil of jangly guitars, tooting horns and an all around ebullient feel about it so even if they are bummed about what’s happening in their neighborhood they wanna sing about it man! They wanna shout! They wanna dance (or they want you to)! Listen to “Modern Living”…how can you not shake your moneymaker to that song? The Shakes are all about the 1960s: tambourines, Kinks records, farfisa organs, and a touch of that cosmic cowboy scene that has been all the rage the past few years (evident on “Mr. Fix-It”). Main man Peter Gilabert , along with bassist/perfect foil Janet Housden (and let’s not forget their organ player Dan Collins) seem like they have been playing together since birth (kinda like the Minutemen) they know each other so well they don’t even have to ask or even look at one another….it’s just there. THE RISE AND FALL ….is so chock full of tunes that put a smile on my face that I’ll contribute to whatever they want me to contribute to, any “rebuild L.A.” charity they want me to ….i’m a convert. Take me to your leader ….Peter Gilabert, where are you ??!!" -- Dagger
"There isn’t a single sound or influence that the Shakes won’t explore on The Rise and Fall of Modern Living, the L.A. collective’s third release. Drenched in the wigged-out Farfisa, jangly guitar pop of the ‘60s, the Shakes suggest everything from the Kinks' vaudevillian pop (“On My Street,” “Modern Living “) to the Beatles’ early mop-shaking rawness (“The Greeter of Sanborn Ave.”) to the Moves' sophisticated naivete (“Dorian Gray”). Those references points alone would be more than enough to sell the Shakes to any truly devoted pop fan but the thing that really pegs the satisfaction needle on The Rise and Fall of Modern Living is the band’s uncompromising and completely contemporary lyrical perspective; a whimsically cynical examination of the gentrification of the Silverlake community and, by extension, the giant breast implant that has become Los Angeles. On the surface, that might make the Shakes seem too regional for widespread acceptance, but the band’s music is so bloody infectious that the Center for Disease Control may try to quarantine it. This is one fever that should be giving everyone the Shakes." -- Amplifier
"In part, this feels like a sly pastiche of eras and genres, as if Polyphonic Spree joined hands with mid-period Kinks and decided to take their kitsch to L.A cosmic cowboy land and add horns, strings, and layers of cheese. Just check out “Mr. Fix-It” which has a certain slice of life vignette meets jest and anger that speaks to everyday blusters, while woozy wide belts of sunshine rain down on “Hyperion St. Bridge Song,” making it soft as a teddy bear, but it all feels about as rock’n’roll as Crisco. Finally, “Dorian Gray” (nice pun on Oscar Wilde) kicks into Strawberries pop gear, but faster and more slightly casual bar rompin style, revealing that their melodies can also have kicks and thrusts too. By far, this is the track that leaves my neck wobbly, while rustic roots speedily unfurl on “Gentrification Blues,” a stab at money makers and displaced music shakers. Quietly, the diaper riffing of “Little Babies” (“that drive me to do harm…”) unabashedly hides pent-up ire under coats of lullaby leanings. “Love and Radiation” continues the way of the rock, with easy rhyming about lonely apartment wondering, while “Ballad of the Carpetbagger” is an organ-drenched ditty about a few folks who “got what was coming” since they get rich “off other people’s misery.” Again, you have to read the bitter text between the bounces. Latin bursts fill “Yo Queiro Dinero,” all rolling tongues, lo-fi A.M. radio “Ring of Fire” horns, and fuck you banter, which sort of comes full circle on “Mexican Wedding,” which is replete with cops and dancing girls. With its momentary polka/Tejano jumps, it feels, again, like an irony-caked Kinks minefield, smart and saucy under rhythmic pleasantness. It probably won’t play well to those who want more Teenacide outings like The Checkers, but this is musically well heeled and acerbic in the right places." -- Left Of The Dial