SHANNON AND THE CLAMS “SLEEP TALK” 1-2-3-4-GO! RECORDS                 Although every douche out there has given way to championing frumpy, hack assholes as “Thee Next Big Thing”, bands that make a fuckin’ effort will win the goddamn race every time.   Shannon And The Clams are a band that not only tries, but goes above and beyond even the loftiest of expectations.   Their shows are part jamboree, part séance and part make-out kegger, attracting rockers from essentially every branch of the tree.  Their initial recordings proved that they could keep the party going on tape, but Sleep Talk represents a quantum leap:  a fully-realized, highly entertaining asskicker of an el-pee.  The album pleases on both Crampsian and purist levels, exhibiting a 50/50 split between raunch and sweetness.                   If such a thing as formula exists for this band, it’s surely difficult to extrapolate.  Part doo-wop soul, a few sweat-dripping nods to R&B and the gut-reaction delivery of any given Back From The Grave 60’s punk troupe...maybe that’s close.  As with any band that, I dunno, cares, Ms. Shannon and Her Clammies are road-tested, having stretched beyond beautiful Oakland, California to conduct their disturbing, playful loud-ass masses.  The response has been more than favorable, so much so that queer-as-the-day-is-long Hunx tapped Shannon to be a Punkette and Cody Clam to write a few tunes for his diva-making opus, Too Young To Be In Love.                  But Sleep Talk is the business at hand.  Hearing this LP is getting a peek at this band as they truly are.  It’s welcoming, a bit off, a lil’ creepy and a great fuckin’ time.  The Clams make a racket the way you wish most other bands would, aggressively arranged for optimum tit-shaking, yet interesting enough to make you marvel.  And Shannon’s voice has been apparent from the get-go, sure…but she really does shine here.  The purest distillation of this band’s powers can be heard on “I Don’t Want To Be In A Cult No More”, a song whose classic status is interrupted only by the fact that it would’ve ruled 14,000 harder had they called it “I Don’t Wanna Be In No Cult No Mo”.  So, for that very reason, it’s resides in the Neo-Classic file.  Still, it gives off rays of Rock’n’Roll Ooga Booga that we simply are no longer accustomed to.  They aren’t just showing off.  They may actually be trying to kill us!!!! Otherwise, this is a blemish-free, fantastic LP that just about everyone oughta investigate.  As a gambling man, I’m just gonna guess that a whole shit-ton of people are gonna be into this…    MITCH CARDWELL Oakland, CA February 2011