The Moon Is in the Wrong Place

by Shannon & the Clams

Overview

Shannon Shaw has a voice as big as all outdoors, and apparently Dan Auerbach decided she should make a record that's just as vast. Shaw is the lead singer with Shannon & the Clams, whose blend of girl group, garage rock, rockabilly, and other cool retro rock & roll sounds has made them cult favorites, and Auerbach is the co-founder of the Black Keys and an avowed Clams fan who produced their 2018 album Onion as well as 2021's Year of the Spider. Both of those records found Auerbach using his studio savvy to give the band a richer and more colorful sound, and with 2024's The Moon Is in the Wrong Place, he's gone all in, with clean, well-detailed production, arrangements that aren't afraid to be grandiose, and plenty of space for Shaw's vocals to get the spotlight they deserve. The opening track, "The Vow," is a Latin-tinged ballad whose romantic shuffle builds up to a colossal swell of horns, percussion, and massed vocals in its grand finale, and if most of the album is on a more modest scale, it serves as a statement of purpose that, at least for this record, Auerbach and the Clams have decided to go big or go home. There's a bittersweet irony in the grand spectacle of "The Vow," as Shaw originally wrote it for her fiancé, Gris Gris drummer Joe Haener, who died in an auto accident just weeks before they were to be wed. Shaw and her bandmates -- guitarist Cody Blanchard, keyboard player Will Sprott, and drummer Nate Mahan -- wrote the bulk of The Moon Is in the Wrong Place in the wake of his passing, and the tragedy informs several of the songs ("It's hard to share you with all the world/I wanted to wear white and be your girl," Shaw sings in "Oh So Close, Yet So Far," with just the slightest catch in her voice). There are fewer songs on The Moon Is in the Wrong Place that will get the party started than on Shannon & the Clams' previous albums (with the exception of the joyous "Bean Fields"), though if the tone is subdued, the end result is still very satisfying. The band and their guests play with passion and skill, the songs are evocative and thoughtful, and Auerbach's confidence in Shaw's voice is well founded -- she sounds soulful and strong even as she struggles with heartache and loss. The Moon Is in the Wrong Place doesn't feel like an out-of-the-box banger like the Clams' best LPs, but it aims for something different than their previous work, and on its own terms it's a deeply affecting success. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	05/10/2024
Label:	Concord
UPC:	0888072550216

Tracks

1. The Vow
2. The Hourglass
3. Big Wheel
4. Oh So Close Yet So Far
5. UFO
6. What You're Missing
7. Real Or Magic
8. The Moon Is in the Wrong Place
9. So Lucky
10. Dalí's Clock
11. Bean Fields
12. In the Grass
13. Golden Brown
14. Life Is Unfair

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Shannon & the Clams   Primary Artist
Cody Blanchard   Guitar,Vocals,Celeste,Vibraphone,Guitar (Steel),Bass (Electric),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Nate Mahan   Keyboard Bass,Guitar (Steel),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Banjo,Drums,Organ,Piano,Celeste,Mellotron,Vibraphone,Synthesizer,Drum Machine,Guitar (Bass)
Jake Botts   Sax (Baritone)
Shannon Shaw   Vocals,Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background)
Raymond Mason   Trombone,Trombone (Bass)
Andrew Golden   Horn
Sam Bacco   Drums,Percussion
Will Sprott   Organ,Piano,Vocals,Marimba,Keyboards,Mellotron,Vibraphone,Harpsichord,Synthesizer,Glockenspiel,Guitar (Bass),Keyboard Bass,Vocals (Background)
Mick Foley   Clapping

Technical Credits

Tyler Zwiep   Assistant Engineer
Jonny Ullman   Assistant Engineer
Alisa Preisler   Management
Danny Haener   Back Cover
Dan Auerbach   Mixing,Producer,Recording Producer
Cody Blanchard   Composer
Shannon Shaw   Composer,Art Direction,Illustrations
Perry Shall   Design,Art Direction
M. Allen Parker   Mixing,Recording
Caleb VanBuskirk   Engineer,Recording
Nate Mahan   Composer
Victor Franco   Photography
Ryan Smith   Mastering
Will Sprott   Composer
Trey Keller   Engineer
Allen Parker   Mixing,Engineer
Bryan Smith   Mastering Engineer
McKinley James   Assistant Engineer
Jim Herrington   Band Photo,Photography