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March 22, 2008 @ Exit/In — The Jane Shermans (CD Release)

The Jane Shermans Release CD, and Continue to Impress with Their Live Show

The Jane Shermans released their anxiously-awaited full-length debut LP Popular Music Social Condition Saturday night (March 22, 2008) at Nashville’s legendary Exit/In. Performing as a trio, The Jane Shermans are Eulene Sherman (bass/vocals), Angelo (guitar), and Joshua Moore (drums), and they are creating much well-deserved chatter within Nashville’s indie music scene.

Perhaps unconventional by nature, Sherman and Angelo chose to write and record the CD before playing any live dates. With Angelo producing and a couple of Nashville’s best musicians (Jared Followill on bass and Rollum Haas on drums) lending a hand, The Jane Shermans delivered the best rock record I’ve heard from an indie Nashville band since Josh Rouse’s Dressed Up Like Nebraska (1998). Finished in the summer of 2007, The Jane Shermans have been performing most of the songs from Popular Music Social Condition for the past six months on the Nashville club circuit. Self-released, the record is now available to fans on both CD and vinyl.

Saturday night’s CD release show offered no surprises, with one exception. Choosing to celebrate the release of their new CD on a night billed as the opener for Nashville’s on the verge Southern rockers American Bang was a bit anti-climactic. Having seen The Jane Shermans live at least half a dozen times over the past six months, it’s my opinion that the CD’s release date deserved a headlining slot with a well-choreographed light-show and a sound guy familiar with their songs. But if that’s all I have to complain about (and it is), then The Jane Shermans are doing something right—plenty, indeed.

Although The Jane Shermans are a new band, Eulene Sherman and Angelo are veterans of the music biz and their live performances reflect as much. Sherman’s vocals are pitch-perfect every show. And although we’ve grown accustomed to great vocalists here in Nashville, we rarely see a woman deftly playing a Gibson Explorer bass while simultaneously nailing pitch-perfect vocals. In this regard, Shermans’ stage presence is reminiscent of Cheryl Crow’s. But the music is much more akin to Debbie Harry, and fans of Rilo Kiley will certainly approve. Indeed, Sherman’s delivery is strong and sexy—simultaneously feminist and feminine (I’m not suggesting the two are mutually exclusive—only that they are rarely held together so well). Angelo’s accompanying guitar-work, moreover, is an amalgamation of The Edge, Andy Summers, and Jimi Hendrix. The term "in the pocket" does little to describe the layers of pockets Angelo fills through his brilliant use of effects. Drummer Joshua Moore is a heavy-hitter who, when he can hold onto his sticks, also lands in the pocket consistently.

With Moore’s heavy-hitting and Angelo’s tube-driven sweet-spot, The band has a loud stage volume. So they’re at their best in larger venues like Mercy Lounge. When the light show syncs up with the layers of sound eminating from a Jane Shermans set, it’s magical. Although we didn’t get such a light show at Exit/In, it’s likely the big production arena shows aren’t far away for The Jane Shermans. Get the new record, play it often, and go see The Jane Shermans, your next new favorite band. —Vincent Wynne

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CRITICS PICK

Music

THE JANE SHERMANS The song "Young and Hungry" is a pretty solid introduction to The Jane Shermans' sound—one that weaves together Blondie's old-school new-wave cool with the indie-rock spunk and modern production values of female-led bands such as Sahara Hotnights and The Sounds. The tracks are filled with bass-driven strut, ringing guitar lines and sultry late-night city cool—courtesy of guitarist Angelo Petraglia, a songwriter and producer so established for his work (with Kings of Leon, among others) that his name doesn't usually appear with his surname attached. The rubbery basslines are supplied by Kings' Jared Followill, and the familiar trot comes by way of Features stickman Rollum Haas. (Live, frontwoman Eulene Sherman ably handles the bass duties.) If that ain't enough icing, the record was engineered by Roger Moutenot, whose name often trails Yo La Tengo's, and mixed by Jacquire King, the same dude who worked on Modest Mouse, not to mention The Features' major-label debut. Stellar credits don't always a good band make, but this one's onto something. 8 p.m. at The Rutledge —TRACY MOORE