Identical twins from Ottawa, Rob and Peter Johnson wove a heavy duty tapestry on this tasty little four song 7” EP as Shahman. Occupying an interstitial space between math-y and slow paced Shellac dream-time and burned out early Mogwai post-rock, the corona of cathartic but eloquent screaming and metallic breaks in each song drive this boat over the proverbial mountain.
As the name suggests, these unassuming youngsters draw in and guide the listener through some other-worldly territory, no small accomplishment for a guitar and drums duo. The pace builds and builds, iceberg slow and purposeful on dour opener “Here Within Me”, catching serious fire on the tortured pyre of attack and release of “Homemade Maps”. The flip continues our descent into this richly textured mindscape with the gloriously bleak “In Feeling Nothing” and culminates in the ferocious charge of closer “Rare Breed”, which disintegrates in a glorious build and wash of guitar noise with hauntingly buried and distorted harmonies.
This first offering by Shahman is a total gem, a tightly controlled descent into chaotic abandon, balancing each riff with consideration and intent. This is serious music, meant for the exorcism of demons with a side effect of brain expansion. A total and joyously dark diamond of fierce and loud musical catharsis.
