photo credit: Jim Herrington
“By incorporating a wider array of subgenres without losing their core identity, Shannon and the Clams create music that’s familiar without feeling redundant.”
– Pitchfork
“Sad as the circumstances are surrounding it, the resulting album looks to be the most ambitious one they’ve ever made, leaving the garage for widescreen high-fi production.”
– Brooklyn Vegan
“Shannon and The Clams are the prime example of a retro rock-inspired band that still feels fresh and singular.”
– Paste Magazine
Shannon & The Clams have released ‘Bean Fields’, the second single off their upcoming album The Moon Is In The Wrong Place. The. New track honours singer-bassist Shannon Shaw’s fiancé, Joe Haener who passed away in a tragic car accident at his family’s farm in Aurora, Oregon.
‘Bean Fields’ is an emotional high point of the album and a celebration of life. Haener’s farm, specifically the sprawling bean fields he planted, was the site of the tragedy, but they also symbolise his lasting impact on those around him.
Its sentimental value simultaneously makes it a beautiful, communal meeting ground for friends and family to drink wine, look up at the stars, and feel his presence. Chirping crickets and a welcoming “woo-hoo” immerse the listener into three minutes of triumphant bliss about living life to the fullest in the name of those that you’ve lost.
The track comes with a jubilant, storybook-like music video directed by Vanessa Pla and animated by Amber McCall. ‘Bean Fields’ has premiered today via American Songwriter, who spoke exclusively with the band and director about the song. Read the full piece HERE.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO ‘BEAN FIELDS’
CLICK HERE TO PRE-SAVE THE MOON IS IN THE WRONG PLACE
The album debuts in May on longtime collaborator Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys’, acclaimed label Easy Eye Sound. The Moon Is In The Wrong Place opens with ‘The Vow’, a horn-laced number that Shaw wrote with the intention of surprising Haener on their wedding day. The track is a brief glimpse of possibility and hope for what might’ve been, one that is quickly torn to shreds. It’s followed by ‘The Hourglass’, a product of the band’s jam sessions. Intense and unsettling, its hypnotic, lurching groove and cascading organ runs have a touch of off-kilter Krautrock in them; it also offers a look at the volcano of emotion churning inside Shaw’s body.
Blanchard also steps up to the mic for lead vocal duties on several tracks that address his experience with loss and grief, including the strutting, fuzzed-out ‘Big Wheel’ and the Northern soul-styled lament ‘What You’re Missing’. Sprott makes a rare appearance as lead singer, describing an otherworldly encounter in the trippy tune ‘UFO’.
There are many moments of staggering beauty on The Moon Is In The Wrong Place. ‘Real Or Magic’ is lush and dreamy, written about a vision where Haener appeared to Shaw bathed in light, and for a moment it felt like none of the horror had been real. In ‘Oh So Close, Yet So Far’, Shaw feels him in the breeze, the stars, and the trees, understanding that now she shares him with everyone. ‘So Lucky’ grew out of a mantra Shaw was repeating in the weeks after Haener’s death, and the lush arrangement shimmers with sadness and gratitude in equal measure as she recounts her favourite little details.
Ultimately, Shaw finds something like acceptance. In the album-closing ‘Life Is Unfair’, she spells it out: “Life is unfair, yet beautiful. I see it now.” Existence is both bitter and sweet, sunshine and rain, dark and light, life and death. It’s a little bit of everything. Sometimes the moon is in the wrong place. Knowing that has made her and The Clams stronger.
Shannon & The Clams will be touring throughout 2024 to support The Moon Is In The Wrong Place. Tickets went on sale last month and can be purchased on the band’s website HERE.
