Review Summary: Actually, some sharks are sometimes still
Before Minus The Bear, front man Jake Snider created Sharks Keep Moving. Along his side were Jeff DeGolier on bass, Nathan Turpin as a second guitarist, and Dan Dean with drums. SKM are like a premature Minus The Bear and American Football. You’ll find that each track is filled with mellow melodies, illustrative lyrics, and lucid guitar riffs, which make this self-titled album quite an impressive first LP.
The opener to the album is an eight-minute track titled "Sailor." Sailor immediately grabbed my attention and pulled me into the fine works of a song simply about a man out at sea. The guitar riffs in this song almost do more describing of the scene portrayed from the lyrics themselves. The flow is absolutely brilliant. Even with the bit of redundancy some may find on this track, I find it necessary and fitting.
As you progress further into the album you’ll run into three instrumentals all of which are very technical but relaxing. “Second Instrumental” and “Third Instrumental” are both slow and vivid songs that could easily put you to sleep. “First Instrumental” seems to be more cheery and consists of many strange effects that crash in periodically from out of the blue. “Join Up”, “Open Bay”, and “Jet’s Jets” all go back to having Jake’s light vocals but still keep the tranquilizing sound found on the other tracks to attract the listener.
The overall feel of this album is definitely a lot more relaxed than the Minus The Bear albums, but I feel it is equally as impressive. The album is split into half instrumental tracks adding up the three instrumentals and the short but satisfying “Interlude”. The lyrics often depict a specific scene Jake is reflecting back on, or of course, women. The strong point of this album is definitely the music. Every track consists of waves and waves of clean riffs and jams with the occasional overdub of nasty and distorted licks. The drumming is great, and the bassist fits in perfectly loud and clear behind the guitar melodies. All in all, if you enjoy relaxing music or Minus The Bear, chances are you’ll enjoy Sharks Keep Moving.
Recommended Songs: Sailor, First Instrumental, Open Bay
