"Showing much heavier tendencies as well as a penchant for
doing the unexpected Mass Shivers twist and turn through 28
infectious minutes on their latest album ‘Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy’.
Opening track ‘Womanising Metal Studs’ is a bizarre mix of the Stooges
and the Beach Boys, whilst ‘Mossy Nethers’ is a repetitive can-like
groove, with some creeping brass adding to the atmosphere. Diverse and
never dull, this is well worth a listen." - Terrascope UK
"The second album from Chicago-based Mass Shivers is one that sounds
infinitely familiar, though where that familiarity comes from is
uncertain. The opener of “Womanizing Metal Studs” sets the stage for the
album as a whole; flanged-out, low-end guitars squelch and noodle around
a consistently tribal groove. This is a pretty common theme throughout
the album as a whole, though the guitars range from the stop-start
staccato of Captain Beefheart to thick Stooges growl to straight-up
drone. Likewise, while always somewhat tribal, the drums meander between
solid rock rhythms and krautrock afrobeat hybrids. What really gets this
music to swing, though, are the vocals. They sound like they would nestle
most comfortably on some late 70s space-rock album, spouting epic stories
of some extinct alien race, vocals equal part cock and soul. Similarly,
throughout the album, the campfire and the stadium are found in equal
measure." –B. Roller, Slugmag
"On their second album Chicago trio Mass Shivers rush through a
wealth of great ideas and sharply shaped twists whils a touch of genuine
pop quality is always present. Outbursts of simplified complexity become
well-trimmed song structures of instant appeal. They're pretty loud, yet
(very) well focused. They are an orthodox, triangular sounding band
perhaps but Mass Shivers prove that guitar, drums and vocals still leave
room for new, and excellent, ideas.
The title of the eighth track, 'Tense and Anxious' aptly describes the
trademark Mass Shivers song. Add to it rolling drums and you have a
pleasing and durable formula. Immaculately recorded and produced, the ten
songs on 'Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy' clock in at under half an hour and
are rendered with a fabulous sense of urgency." - Maarten Schiethart , Pennyblackmusic