SHIFT is:
Benjamin Rosfeld, modular synthesizer, vocals
Benji Skaloot - electric bass
Matt Robertson - drums
(I'm late to the game, as this album has been out for well over a month, but I think it's more about saying how relevant this still is. Enjoy.)
First, some history of the band - Matt and Benji have been friends for a long time, and I've heard many a document of their jams together from high school. When Benji went to college, he met Benjamin Rosfeld, and the two bonded over their shared love of prog rock and electronic music, among other things (they, along with Matt, share a similar sense of humor). Then, when the two Bens traveled to Springfield, Missouri (where Matt and I live), Ben Rosfeld met Matt and the three realized their potential chemistry together.
Their first released single as a band, "Assemble", is what I think of when I think of SHIFT. A driving rock beat, a minimalist-esque bassline, and some wonderfully unhinged vocals and synthesizer. The lyrics are also delightfully brainy, portraying a robot with a human brain. It's probably not a fair comparison, but it brings to mind the more looney acts of the 1980's, like Talking Heads and Cars (when my dad first heard this song, he thought Ben Rosfeld sounded exactly like Gary Numan). While this is a great introduction to the band and all of its members, the primary highlight is the brain of Benjamin Rosfeld.
This is probably a good time to talk about Rosfeld; as the frontman of the trio, he possesses a very strong presence. For one, his voice instantly catches the listener's attention, similar to someone like Gary Numan, but also more a natural extension of his speaking voice. In "Assemble", Rosfeld goes from straight lyrics to the chant "Assemble!" to a wild chorus of screaming, serving to highlight his wide vocal range. Just as notable as his vocal skill, if not more so, are his stylings on synthesizer: he has perfect control over every timbre he decides to use. While not as prevalent on "Assemble", Rosfeld perfectly utilizes his synth to fit every context on the album. (Incidentally, his father Ken Rosfeld's studio was where the band recorded this album.)
I got to witness the evolution of "Assemble"; like many of the band's songs, it is built on a bass riff created by Benji Skaloot, something he has become a master of. Some more personal history: Benji was a major reason I decided to pursue music. He gave me my first experience of being in a band, and in the year he graduated high school, he exposed me to all kinds of different music, from the iconoclasts Frank Zappa and Jaco Pastorius, to more modern sounds from Thundercat and Snarky Puppy, to even the free jazz great Albert Ayler. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much Benji is influenced by King Crimson, something that has carried over into SHIFT through every member. That being said, he's always been someone who dares to be original; his ideas and personality are special, and I consider it a privilege to know him.
Another very signature Benji Skaloot bass vamp is the basis of the band's next single, "Cold Summer Haze"; the fact that this coexists with "Assemble" proves the band's diverse and uncategorizable nature. This vamp is much more melodious, soaked in envelope reverb and backed by a much more relaxed hip-hop groove. It also serves as a harmonic cushion for some minimal synth noodling and introspective crooning from Rosfeld (both Bens contributed to the lyrics). The oxymoron in the title further adds to the bright yet foggy atmosphere this track creates, as well as the feeling during summer of time seeming to disintegrate.
Last, but certainly not least, is the drummer Matt Robertson, who has given me much firsthand account of the band's sessions. As the last piece of the SHIFT puzzle, he knows exactly where to fit, providing grooves and textures that drive the band, but don't overpower. While Rosfeld came from electronic music and Benji's background was more classic rock, Matt's primary influence is jazz - this doesn't even begin to describe his musical vision, however. Besides classic Coltrane, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy and Herbie Hancock, he's also into J Dilla, Kendrick Lamar, Death Grips, black midi, and Thundercat just to name a few. (Incidentally, the Bens share a love for these artists as well.) Besides learning from him musically, we've also been close friends for about 3 years at this point, and we've talked to each other about almost everything under the sun since then.
Matt also doesn't shy away from dealing with personal/emotional issues such as burnout, which inspired the writing of the band's final released single "A Decade Feels Different Every Time". The melody is very much something Matt would write, inspired by the ancient quality of the perfect fourth interval, and the lyrics show a maturity and perspective far outside merely being a jazz drummer. The song addresses finding solace in technology, which in reality is nothing but overstimulation and burnout in the long run; it ties in perfectly with the band's sound and themes. Only adding to the feast is Rosfeld's idiosyncratic vocal delivery (especially during the second theme), and his icy synth gives the melody an air of resemblance to Eurythmics. I also really enjoy the bass solo over the vamp during the bridge.
Now, for a review of the album itself: as the title suggests, it represents different stages in all of time. The opener, aptly titled "Origin", represents the beginning of the universe itself, and masterfully depicts it through entropy-fueled shifts (pun not intended) between odd meters. After a slow, cathedral-esque forming of molecules in 11/8 and a more moshy 5/8 chorus, the two sonorities mesh before giving way to an entire new section: skitterish and frenzied bass fills in 7/8. It is this new section that opens the floodgates for a wild and woolly drum solo from Matt, until a light beacon from the synth cues the formation of land underneath Rosfeld's soaring cries. The whole thing is capped off perfectly when the motive from the beginning appears at a much faster tempo, before disintegrating into the still-intact 5/8 mosh theme. The final bass note almost seems to chime as the album cuts directly to the next song, "A Decade Feels Different Every Time". This seems to take the focus from the universe down to humanity, especially our constant need for distraction and "peace of mind" instead giving us information overload.
The next track, "7001", is most definitely my favorite. The bassline is simple yet elegant, the groove is deep, and the vocal line soars as if it were the Angel of Death. In fact, the song may as well be called "I'll see you on the other side of life", considering the drama and memorability of that line, repeated throughout the song. The chorus is a splendid offset, allowing itself to build up and dementedly decay before returning to the verse. Rosfeld also adds some disintegrating computer noises to close the second chorus, a perfect transition to the bridge, during which the floor opens up in terms of rhythm. The bass sound on the bridge is beautifully mastered, and it suits the mood set by Rosfeld's dramatic spoken-word interlude (probably my favorite lyrics too):
Nothing can escape the laws of the universe.
Just as the fruit fly lives and dies
and decays within two months,
so must all things end.
Every particle decays,
every molecule and every galaxy
eventually sucked into the abyss.
All things decay and all things end.
I'll see you on the other side of life.
After the return of the verse and chorus, the end of humanity seems to be signaled by the direct cut into "Cold Summer Haze". Its spot on the album conjures up ironically peaceful images of the last humans to exist, waking up to see the sun rise over a completely motionless lake. (I'm positive I'm taking artistic liberties here.) The next song, "Assemble", most definitely represents this "other side of life", with its robotic bassline and post-apocalyptic setting.
The closer, the eleven-minute epic "In Fields", starts in a melancholy fashion with a synth drone, some wonderfully spare Skaloot bass noodling, and Rosfeld's vocals at their most haunting and seemingly wordless. This introduction is one of my absolute favorite bits of music on the album. Its starkly meditative contrast from much of the album intrigues me enough to want to see where they take it next. When the drums kick in, the narrator mourns the loss of his home, and the musical aura seems to capture the end of time itself. The rock/sea shanty beat here works to update the typical doo-wop/rock ballad groove, as well as adapt it to more serious and mournful subject matter. While the song on its own is great, Rosfeld attempts to draw the album's continuity to a close in a later verse, quoting lines from three of the previous songs, which honestly works. As great as the synthesizer work on the album is, the switch to piano during the final minutes of the album is also a sigh of relief.
I like how this song mirrors the opening "Origins" in its strong contrast of different sections, bookending the album, yet doesn't copy it. As nuanced as both songs are, the length of this track gives it not only more space to breathe, but a more melancholy/contemplative nature; it also serves to parallel "Origins" by instead representing the slow disintegration of life as we know it. The latter especially is emphasized by the appearance of a speech by Dune author Frank Herbert, stressing the importance of sustaining the planet. This move proves just how much SHIFT owes to science fiction in its storytelling and predictions of how life's grim realities will progress in the near future.
What makes these pieces interesting are the different takes on the verse-chorus-bridge pop/rock formula; the most simplistic in this regard is "Cold Summer Haze", which lacks a bridge, whereas the most expansive are "7001", "Origins", and "In Fields". Furthermore, the pieces benefit from the band's shared knowledge of sound and texture, from each electronic sound to something as subtle as a tiny cymbal reverberating in the beginning of "In Fields". It's not overbearing, either; as artists, they know when to dial it down so that the louder sections work more effectively. What ties everything together is just how beautifully the individual pieces cohere into a large, overarching statement.
I say this not just as a friend of the band, but an admirer of their music: it's promising that they're still quite young and manage to create something with so much depth and maturity. If they make something like this now, imagine what they'll be doing five or ten years from now. No pressure though. Overall, a striking debut from the band. 10/10.
Tracklist:
1. Origins
2. A Decade Feels Different Every Time
3. 7001
4. Cold Summer Haze
5. Assemble
6. In Fields
Further listening:
SHIFT's YouTube channel - the album in its entirety plus a live version of "Assemble". Go to listen to the album; my frenetic chicken scratch descriptions don't do it justice.
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