On Who’s Got Trouble, their second full-length disc, Shivaree combines an astonishingly diverse array of influences into a unique voice. You might hear echoes of songs from any of the last eight decades, along with elements of tango, R&B, movie themes, carnival calliope and more. In the brief 2:11 of “Someday” alone, they conjure up a Depression flapper and an oompah band, with fuzz guitar and electronic weirdness thrown in.
If that makes Shivaree’s music sound like mere pastiche or collage, it is not. Like the Beatles at their best, the band has successfully assimilated all these sounds into their collective DNA.
Don’t let Ambrosia Parsley’s breathy, little-girl voice, or for that matter her name (it’s real), fool you. She is a skilled singer, and her lyrics conceal sentiments of steel under their whimsical words. Mixed with Duke McVinnie’s guitar stylings, which range from soul to sound sculpture, the result is a band that is “pure” talent.