One things for sure: on their new record, the Massachusetts-based Apollo Sunshine are most definitely not a jamband. Weighing in at a skimpy 38 minutes, Shall Noise Upon consists of sixteen songs, and not a long one in sight (no track reaches even four minutes).
Why then, you might ask, would a jamband fan be interested in these cats? Well, for starters, they cover a lot of stylistic ground. On this, their third full-length, guitarist Sam Cohen, bassist Jesse Gallagher and drummer Jeremy Black deliver Revolver-era Beatles workouts (666: The Coming of the New World Government, The Mermaid Angeline), serious funk (The Funky Chamberlain (Who Begot Who)), experimental interludes (Shall Noise Upon, Wolf Frog White) and nods to Simon and Garfunkel (Money) and Johnny Cash (Fog and Shadow). And, for the most part, the music is solid and convincing as they hop from genre to genre.
So whats the downside? Well, theres no downside to digging on Apollo Sunshine, unless of course you promised yourself that you would never succumb to the dark forces known as indie rock. But not to worry: these guys are more in line with Beck or the Flaming Lips than with any of the garbage masquerading as rock today.