Spaceship - Shake Time Loose

Spaceship

Shake Time Loose
self-released; 2014

4.2 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

I don’t know too much about Spaceship other than his work has been featured on the television series "hitRECord on TV" on the network Pivot. Apparently, his recent release Shake Time Loose was made over the course of many years and when thinking about the caliber of the material it’s not all that surprising. The album has a whopping eighteen songs and could easily be considered a double album but what are you going to do. 

At its core the music of Shake Time Loose is pop. It’s pop music done really, really well. The man behind Spaceship has a knack for creating ridiculously infectious melodies. Whether it’s a guitar line, orchestral strings or electronic elements they go down with ease and are a pleasure to listen to. He also has a great voice that is just a delight. There is a good amount of emotion in his voice as well as a number of hard to pinpoint aesthetic qualities that make his voice attractive. He sometimes reminded me of Kevin Barnes from Of Montreal mixed with a tinge of Paul McCartney.

The album feels a bit scattered possibly because there are so many songs. However it really doesn't matter because there are so many gems here.  Spaceship opens the album with one of the highlights entitled “I Should.” The song surrounds itself in warm pads and other synths as he delivers a very solid vocal performance. He sings, ”Maybe you have found / A better piece of ground / I'd feel bad if you say you did / And especially if you don't I know I should be grateful / I should have warned you”. Towards the end of the song he combines multiple vocal harmonies, which creates a satisfying climax.

Next up is “Sweet Marie Bee,” which will undoubtedly get stuck in your head. Musically, it introduces a different pallet of sounds from the first track but nonetheless it is a superbly written pop song. I especially enjoyed the whistling. Spaceship isn’t all popsicles and butterflies as the man can write songs with an emotional weight. He introduces some melancholy on “The Devil Himself” as well as a Theremin. The tune reminded me a bit of Elliott Smith in some ways. There are other songs like “Eyes of Emerald Sea,” which seem like they would be perfect for a musical. He combines orchestral elements, which create a whirlwind of sounds that get more intense as the song progresses. It’s a short but an extremely well written song. 

As I listened more and more to this album I started to become frustrated but not because of the music. It was the fact that a band like Nickelback and Maroon 5 could be worldwide superstars and Spaceship (who writes songs that are so much better ) lives in obscurity with just over a thousand Facebook likes. Take a listen. I think you will like it. If you do, send it to a friend. 

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