CD: WM25
RELEASED: 2008
LABEL: WOM

01. Glamour
02. Underestimate
03. Why Are You So Angry?
04. Aftertaste
05. Friendly Fires
06. Game Over
07. Spirit Lake
08. Quiet Please
09. Irressistible

Officially released on April 8 it's the seventh full-length from America's finest purveyor of shoegazey dream-pop ever so far in the 24 years since they were first formed in Nebraska by the vocalist and bassist Jeffrey Runnings. Shade Side Sunny Side is For Against's seventh full-length record and first studio album since 2002. As the Lincoln, Nebraska trio approaches their 25th anniversary on the independent music scene, For Against has reemerged with an exclamation point: Shade Side Sunny Side is a landmark record for the band, boasting For Against's darkest (and loudest) material to date. The post-punk roots of For Against's early years are firmly in place, but presented throughout nine new songs with a more expansive and atmospheric sonic palette. Shade Side Sunny Side also marks the notable return of original For Against guitarist Harry Dingman III, who formed For Against with vocalist and bassist Jeffrey Runnings back in 1984. Dingman left the band after 1988's seminal dream pop record, December. For the new album, the prolific Runnings-Dingman songwriting team picks up right where they left off 20 years ago, when they wrote the classic postpunk material that comprised Echelons, December, and In The Marshes all within a 2-year span. What you get is a masterly balance of varied sonic textures, running from the post-punk stomp of the opening track "Glamour" (in the comments) to the atmospheric pop of the follow-up track "Underestimate" (reminiscent of the 2002 album Coalesced) to the fierce guitars (which are overall the stronger for the return of the original guitarist Harry Dingman III ) on "Aftertaste" (under the red button). This theme is particularly apparent on "Game Over" which winds through the first verse and chorus uncharacteristically with only a piano backing and builds up from there only with the greatest, most delicate restraint. Most of these strands come together, even if not altogether successfully, on "Quiet Please, " which begins with tender Chameleons-style instrumental stylings and slowly transforms into propulsive three-chord riffing. Also included is a cover of "Friendly Fires" by Section 25 (one of the early Factory Records bands).

Influences / Similar Artists:
Joy Division, The Chameleons, Sad Lovers & Giants, Kitchens Of Distinction