Paul White – Shaker Notes

Paul White – Shaker Notes
R&S: 2014

Paul White’s newest full-length album, Shaker Notes, is his most creative and effective effort yet, as he manages to combine a wide variety of musical styles while making it sound easy.

Although grounded in variety and experimentation, the album’s unpredictability creates a sense of unity; by the third or fourth track it’s expected that whatever comes next will be a surprise. This varies from four on the floor grooves to African drumbeats, as well as a few blues songs. Listeners may not reach the end of every track, but they’ll certainly be intrigued by each track for a brief amount of time—at the very least.

White recently spent time in Africa, according to an interview he did with Vice’s Thump, and the influence is apparent throughout the album. Hand drums are a staple instrument, and a couple of songs feature what sound like tribal chants. White even manages to sneak a rain stick into the final track. The cultural acknowledgment subsides in order to make way for a dance tune or two, but its presence is mostly consistent throughout the album.

The first two or three tracks are the easiest to listen to, making the album very approachable. Were it not for these catchy introductory tracks, such as “All We Know,” listeners would maybe miss out on some of the album’s finest offerings. This is not to say that Shaker Notes gets harder to listen to as it moves forward, but it certainly takes an unfamiliar turn. For example, the seemingly Four Tet-inspired “Where You Gonna Go?” is immediately followed by “Honey Cats,” which is nothing short of a dance-inspired Western song. From there, the album is devoid of any pattern or continuity, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “Running on a Rainy Day” encapsulates its title by way of layered vocal samples and one of the album’s most welcome instrument selections, a sitar. “Sitting in Circles” claims one of the album’s dirtiest bass lines, and the title track/album finale leaves listeners wanting more.

At first glance, Shaker Notes seems to be White’s way of asserting his recent deal with dance record label R&S. But listeners that dig deep into the album will discover that the album is comprised of a multitude of layers. On top of the fact that the album is enjoyable from top to bottom–aside from “Wait and See” and “Numbers of Change”—it sounds phenomenal. The number of instruments packed into the album is already impressive, but the fact that each instrument sounds as good as it does makes listening to Shaker Notes through headphones a must.

Paul White has found a well-suited aural space with Shaker Notes. I only hope he continues to explore this newfound sound.

4 out of 5