For Against – Shade Side Sunny Side

On their first LP in seven years, For Against stick to their guns, dispensing gloomy shoe gaze with post-punk additives. This established band delivers a strong and consistent effort with Shade Side Sunny Side. And the band’s newest may also be their darkest.

Making music since 1984, For Against strike a decidedly British pose when delivering their brand of shoe gaze. Some people find this odd for a band rooted in Nebraska. Shade Side Sunny Side inches further out into the dark spaces with a mix of driving rhythms and subdued, gloomy melodies. Despite their tenure, For Against wear their DIY identity on their sleeves; their sound still bears the rough edges of a start-up band. But unlike most newer bands, these veterans clearly grasp of the value of a consistent sound.

The album starts with “Glamour”, a track veering from eerie and dreary openness to straight driving post-punk. It’s a dark and decent track, laying the band’s stripped down approach right on the table. Next, “Underestimate” focuses more on shoe gaze with a dank pop infusion, as bassist and vocalist Jeffrey Running whirs, “I was hoping we would last for such a very long time now, I’ve been living in the past for such a very long time now”. The album’s main lyrical theme is failure and lamentations for sunken relationships.

The first two tracks are good, but track 3, “Why Are You So Angry?”, is one of the best on Shade Side Sunny Side. The broken spirited lyrics synthesize well with the injured chords and lonely melodies.

“Aftertaste” boosts the tempo with a clapped back-beat and flashes of anger. “Friendly Fires” is a cover from a 1981 song by Section 25, so no surprise, this one treads gothic waters as bass guitar and drums sway against tortured feedback while Runnings offers his dry, chanted vocal. Then, “Game Over” slips in with a piano and vocal intro, later interrupted by a rising and then falling drum and guitar figure; this track is a ballad built on the lyric, “If I had my way, I would recreate the way this game was played \ but now you’re gone, and this game is done \ sometimes it wasn’t so fun, you have to admit”.

Track 7, “Spirit Lake”, continues towing the shoe gaze line with a basic chord progression featuring the guitar toying with dissonance. This song’s simplicity makes it good. Then, “Quiet Please” utilizes dynamics, as increasing aggression and volume suddenly flash back to basics. And closing track, “Irresistible” opts for more a melodic approach before a heavy dose of distortion kicks in at 3:30, briefly winging the song to a height amid the black cloud where lightening flashes anonymously; but then the song descends harmlessly back to Earth.

Poor production hampers the album. It sounds muted. But the lack of splashy cymbals and crisp vocals almost fits the album’s depression. So if you like the RIYL list, you’ll like Shade Side Sunny Side. It’s a gloomy shoe gaze party, and misery loves company.