Listening for the Depths of Winter: And a hot debate enters the House floor Austin Bullock — Don’t Wake Me Up At the end of 2020, Providence-based multi-instrumentalist Austin Bullock dropped Don’t Wake Me Up, a satisfying collection of eight songs with wide-ranging influences. A prolific writer, Bullock put out three albums in 2020, all following the theme of “8 hours labor, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest” according to his Bandcamp page. Though it was hard to decipher any kind of throughline, all the songs feature smart arranging and superb guitar playing. He mixes a lot into the stew here, and all the parts are well fleshed out. “Circus Freak” has a kind of dancy Franz Ferdinand vibe, and “How Could You” is a breezy folk tune. Some of the songs off Don’t Wake Me Up make that warbly, Mac Demarco guitar tone the star of the show, like the heavy groover “Deflated.” The leadoff “(I Don’t Want) Another” has the sunny, laid-back tones of Ryland Baxter. The interlocked guitars in “Evaporate” are straight-up Strokes. The best moment comes when Bullock moves away from the modern indie influences completely in the bluesy, psych-infused ”Talk the Talk.” The song’s repetitive, hypnotic riff is something my brain hasn’t been able to shake. There is a homespun basement vibe — Bullock appears to play all the instruments — that is definitely cool, but these songs would really rip with a full band. The act performs as a duo with Lauren Boucher on drums, and hopefully will be playing live at a venue near you soon. Purchase Don’t Wake Me Up here. Torn Shorts — Live at Dusk During this time of peak concert withdrawal, Torn Shorts has released their Dusk set from eight years ago. The quartet, consisting of Josh Grabert, Nick Molak, Brendan Tompkins, and Zach Zarcone, specializes in a mix of heavy blues, folk and jam. The band always seemed like a popular live draw in the before times, and this set illustrates why. If you listen hard enough, you can almost feel yourself back in the post-industrial hinterlands listening to a live set, beer in hand, and afraid to use the dank, graffiti-covered bathroom. Live at Dusk has many jams fans would describe as “tasty,” with extended guitar solos in “Wishing Well” and “Sunday Afternoon.” They mostly keep it pretty tight without entering moe. territory, though the part about getting high down by the river in “It’s A Feeling” may be a bit on the nose. I’ve said before that Dusk has the best sound in the game and it’s on display here, where each instrument is well-accounted for. “Life On A River” features anthemic, Springteen-era rock with everyman themes. A groovy cover of the Wilco, Guthrie-penned song “Airline to Heaven” is made infectious with some tasteful slide guitar. On this album, I gravitated toward the heavier stuff: “Take my Soul” is kind of a classic rock blowout and “Devil” is supercharged, distorted blues for the win. The best part: all proceeds will go toward supporting Dusk. Purchase Torn Shorts’ Live at Dusk here. Making it Official? A recent ProJo article highlighted a bill in the RI House of Representatives that would make R&B the state’s official music. Warwick Democrat Rep. David Bennett filed the bill at the behest of RI R&B Preservation Society president Cleveland Kurtz. The bill defines R&B as “music which contains elements of pop, soul, funk, hip-hop and electronic music.” My take: Perhaps folk or jazz would be a better option, given the state’s two historic music festivals. I suppose any way to draw more attention to our musical heritage is a good thing. I can’t help but imagine what sort of spirited discourse this measure might inspire. Is House Speaker Shekarchi more of a ’90s hip-hop guy? Would a companion bill on the Senate spark debate, with Ruggerio pulling for doom metal? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Ahoy to the Humble Sea Shanty: Sharks Come Cruisin’ elevate the genre with a punk background As the new year rolls along, still chock full of anxiety and loneliness, a seafaring music genre that peaked in the 19th century has become an unlikely star on TikTok. The trend started when 26-year-old Scottish mailman Nathan Evans posted his version of the sea shanty “Wellerman,” a whaling song with origins in New Zealand. That triggered a full-blown frenzy, with hundreds uploading their own riffs. Sea shanties are maritime songs sung to accompany various ship deck tasks like sail hoisting. They combine the rhythms of African work songs with lyrics that are Anglo-Irish, often in 4/4 time with simple melodies that make them a good fit for mass consumption. Some say the popularity of the sea shanty, meant to be sung together in support of a common goal, speaks to the desire for connection during these dark times. On the other hand, Vox contributor Rebecca Jennings sees it as the next in a series of random crazes driven by the social media hivemind: “The quarantine-era internet just makes us cycle through obscure niches of culture faster and faster,” said Jennings. So what is it about these sea shanties? I spoke to local expert Mark Lambert of Providence’s Sharks Come Cruisin’, who specialize in sea shanties, about his experience with the unique genre. Lambert grew up playing in punk and hardcore bands in Providence. His band, Return Around, fizzled out at the end of a long tour at which point he took an extended break from music. He wanted to start playing again in the early 2000s, but wasn’t sure what shape it would take. “A lot of my peers from the rock scene were gravitating to country or blues, which didn’t really seem all that authentic to me.” One day, Lambert was watching the movie Jaws, which features a few shanties, and was immediately taken. “I heard Quint’s version of ‘Spanish Ladies’ — I knew there was something very New England about the sound, and it felt very close to home for me,” he said. After borrowing some sea shanty LPs from the library he dug in further, working out the songs and playing local open mics. SCC started to take shape once he got a bassist and drummer involved. On a musical level, the appeal for Lambert makes sense. Three chords, an everyman spirit and a supremely singable nature make shanties not unlike punk rock. “The melodies are all very familiar — even if you don’t know them, you kinda do,” said Lambert. The call and response element, which helped shiphands stay in sync when performing heavy-duty chores, was another big draw for Lambert. “It reminded me of exactly where I grew up at hardcore shows — the singer was singing and the audience screaming back at them.” SCC, to date, has two full-length albums, along with various EPs and live recordings mostly consisting of traditional shanties and the odd original mixed in. Lambert’s punk background really shines through in songs like “South Australia” and “Donkey Riding” off their album When I Got Home From Across the Sea, which are uptempo, semi-rocked out shanties. Instruments like banjo, fiddle and accordion round out the sound. The band has also become known for the monthly Shanty Sing at the Parlour, the rare family-friendly evening gig. Lambert came up with the idea and pitched it to then part owner Aaron Jaehnig, and it ended up being a major success. SCC had been doing virtual shanty sings at home remotely until this month. “It is a little unfortunate that this popularity comes in the middle of a pandemic, when no one can actually come together and do the real thing,” said Lambert. Lambert, who says he’s had many articles around the “Wellerman” craze sent to him by friends, isn’t so sure that the craze is related to the pandemic. “I think it’s more a matter of this guy in Scotland putting his own spin on the song (which I had actually never heard), with a great hook that happened to resonate with a wide audience. And now, it’s great to see others who are continuing to make it their own.” Listen to the music of Sharks Come Cruisin’ Just Released I wanted to start with a few words on the passing of legendary New York Dolls guitarist, Sylvain Sylvain. Although I am trying not to write a monthly rock ‘n’ roll obituary column, I would not be writing this column without the influence of Sylvain Sylvain and the New York Dolls. The New York Dolls, along with the Stooges and MC5, pretty much invented everything that became punk rock. The New York Dolls were pretty much a trashy glam rock version of the Rolling Stones on more drugs in the barren wasteland that early ’70s New York City was. The first two Dolls records are classics and even some of their 2000s reunion albums, notably One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This, were great. Thank you and rest in power, Sylvain Sylvain. Sugar Cones — Road Soda On their sophomore album, Road Soda, Sugar Cones come back with 11 scoops of ballads, bangers and cliff hangers, some of which have been released in different forms. Sugar Cones are pretty much a straight-up rock ‘n’ roll band with loud guitars anchored by the elastic tight rhythm section of bassist Jeff Sullivan and drummer Alyson Hammond.