So this one's pretty much a mystery to me. I don't remember how it ended up in my iTunes library, and this cryptic blurb is literally the only writing regarding this band on the entire internet. So from that, and a desolate last.fm page, I've been able to piece together that they were a 4-piece from San Francisco, they started in 1999, and they had an album called The Inland Mile. Anyone got the scoop?
Musically, this is guitar-driven, generally upbeat post-rock. Homemade but polished and fully legit, in a way that at times reminds me of Duster. It's hard to believe -- sad, even -- that a band this good could have so completely slipped between the cracks.
Track listing:
1. Flame On!
2. More for Detroit
3. Open Letter (To Mom and Dad)
4. Yo Terminator... Meet the Album That Killt Me
5. Roll On Horses (Roll On)
6. Replaced Space
7. Unemployable
8. The Send-Off
9. Sharp Air
10. Monster Song
11. Day of Feast, Day of Rest (Grow Away)
12. Jon and Roy
13. South Patrol
14. Body Doubles
15. The Forked Tongue
16. The Engine
17. Now, We Leave You!
It'll be so very long
A note of commendation and recognition - I love your blog. Oddly, your taste in metal leaves me saying "meh" (I'm not much into metal) but EVERYTHING ELSE you post is fucking spot on. You've opened me to a lot of music I didn't know existed. Keep it up, champ. Keep it up.
ReplyDelete:-)
Glad to hear you're getting something out of your visits here. Metal just isn't for some people, I guess. It probably says something good about your emotional development, so thumbs up for you. I was hoping that your comment was going to contain some information on the mysterious Shackleton, though. Oh well.
DeleteApparently a couple of people in Shackleton went on to form Thee More Shallows (though one then moved away and had to leave the band)... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thee_More_Shallows
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I'll check them out. Thanks!
DeleteWas about to leave this comment (destroying your upload cache, though I grabbed this one from a /mu/ sharethread eons and eons ago) - Thee More Shallows is definitely something to look into if you like Shackleton. I recommend the "A History Of Sport Fishing" album for more bummed-out slowcore goodness.
DeleteThanks a million for uncovering this gem. A truly overlooked magnificent album.
ReplyDeleteMaaan, im intrigued, would you put it on mega?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful album. Numero should jump on this and immediately reissue it. It would fit in perfectly with Duster, Rex, Current and Karate.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard the other Shackleton? Pretty amazing - start with this one.. https://www.discogs.com/master/1034530-Shackleton-With-Ernesto-Tomasini-Devotional-Songs
ReplyDeleteI have, I've actually posted something by him before (https://opiumhum.blogspot.com/2017/03/shackleton-blood-on-my-hands-ricardo.html) but never heard that one, gonna check it out.
DeleteHi dear_spirit,
ReplyDeleteI remember fondly helping "rediscover" Shackleton with my friend Dot back in late 2014. I think sie messaged one of Dee Kesler's Facebook accounts and e-mailed with him for a brief second. He kindly provided the files by uploading them to Soundcloud. I used to think he took them down, but they're actually all still there!
https://soundcloud.com/shackletonsf/tracks
The file version I think that still gets passed around was Dot's 128kbps rip of each track. Dot put them in a file labeled "Discography" with the Inland Mile art pictured above and shipped it out. I think I see someone here mentioning a /mu/ sharethread, and I think that was it. I didn't use 4chan.
Dee also told Dot that the original pressing (on vinyl? CD?) of "The Inland Mile" was only about 100 copies and mostly went to friends and family. The discography was really just an assortment of all of their songs, so I'm still not sure what the tracklisting on the original album was.
I'm leaving this message because Dot passed away a month or so ago and I was going back through our messages from when we were teenagers. I love that people are still excited about finding the same tunes that we were so excited about back then. Knowing that Dot is a part of each person's experience with this group makes me extremely happy. Thank you for this post, and I hope you'll be well and healthy in this new year.
Cora
totallytwee@outlook.de