The Shacks | SXSW 2018

The Shacks are a brand new New York City band who fuse old-school guitar strums with contemporary electronic elements, creating a whole new space for themselves in the realms of new music.

Lead singer Shannon’s soft-spoken tone creates an intriguing contrast with the emulation of 60s rock ‘n’ roll that the band’s instruments create, picking up touches from the psychedelic of music’s catalogue as ambient dreamy guitar riffs form a heavy party of their sound. The group previewed songs from their sophomore album ‘Haze,’ to be released at the end of the month, building up dramatically from their debut self titled album released a couple of years ago, and certainly show to be proving all their long term followers right but their now rapid rise, as they become one of the most anticipated new band out of the East Coast right now.  

On a line-up that features a lot of electronic acts, The Shacks delivered a set at Austin’s acclaimed Empire Control Room with a positively noticeable absence of electronic instruments, as the group clearly aimed to emphasise a realism in their music, using purely live instruments and letting the lyrics, which address their own personal experiences and vulnerability, be the driving force that connects the music to the audience.