Biography
Salt. Chemicals. Apathy. Subsidence. Northwich is a town notable for little, but it was here that The Shallow Call drifted out of school and into a band. Brought together through a love of The Smiths, Clash, Love, Phil Spector and a shared bemusement with life in their little home, they began to write songs about casual sex and casual violence, pithy odes to small-town syndrome rapscallions who’ve probably spilt more than you’ll ever drink. Oh, and the fact that bands don’t tend to bother writing good lyrics any more, right ?
Early demos were produced by Steve Powell (The La’s, Shack, The Coral), and were garnered their first commercial release on the Power Overload compilation through Manchester’s High Voltage label. By 2007, an increasingly loyal following and raucous outings with The Enemy, Reverend & The Makers and The Paddingtons culminated in their debut release proper. Entitled Frank Bruno, it was an iron-fisted, velvet-gloved analysis of Englishness, of self-deprecation and of misplaced faith in lovable, eccentric, glorious failures. Clint Boon, Jim Gellatly (XFM Manchester & Scotland respectively) and Colin Murray (Radio 1) collectively swooned. Steve Lamacq saw fit to name it his Single Of The Week, calling it 'some of the most well-observed pieces of lyric-writing I’ve heard in years, quite special indeed'. No-one in London really liked it, but the band didn’t seem to mind.
Fellow Northwich inhabitants The Charlatans would go on to invite the band as support at a sold out gig at the Manchester Ritz, and legendary bass player Martin Blunt would produce their second single Where We All Hang Around, aided by the ubiquitous Jim Spencer (New Order, Johnny Marr). Recorded at The Charlatans’ own Big Mushroom studio, the single would go on to be described by celebrated Manc music journalist John Robb as 'a blur of sweat, passion and windmill limbs, like the soundtrack to a generation'.
Currently The Shallow Call are one of 2000 bands to reach the final 14 of Road To V, the annual competition to open the V Festival at Stafford & Chelmsford. The programme airs 23rd July on Channel 4.
…
'A blur of sweat, passion and windmill limbs, The Shallow Call tear the stage up like primetime Jam, hinted at by frontman Phil's Weller-style chewing of mic and bug-eyed twitching of guitar - and all this with an added Manchester swagger. The band have a set full of anthems that sound like the soundtrack to a generation, the sort of tunes that need to be heard.'
John Robb
'Energetic, economical and unpretentious pop. Some of the most well-observed pieces of lyric-writing I've heard in years, quite special indeed.'
Steve Lamacq, BBC 6Music (SOTW)
'Hyper-energetic and endlessly cool, this Cheshire foursome bring a string of indie-pop three-minute wonders to a thrilling and frenetic stage show. Oh, and Phil dances better than Marty McFly at the Under the Sea dance.'
Jazzy Lemon
'The Shallow Call look every inch like a rock band. They play, with every single decibel like a rock band. And they have all the right tunes, just as any real rock band should have.'
Manchestermusic.co.uk
'Feverish, murderous and lustful. Shivers down the spine stuff and no mistake.'
Whisperin' & Hollerin'
'Loud. Gritty. Raucous. Snarling. Divine. The Shallow Call are a hurricane-force band, axeing and grinding their way into your music collection. There isn’t anything I don’t like about them. They’ll satisfy your need for eardrum-bursting rock in a heartbeat, and you’ll love every second of it.'
Looserecord.com
'Incredible, epic and euphoric rock & roll.'
High Voltage
'Emotionally charged real music with real feeling and its going to steal your soul'.
Breadontoast.com
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