Shark Week - "Baby Maybe"

The first time I heard DC four-piece Shark Week was back in November of 2011 at a show inside of St. Stephens Church. I remember being floored by a rip-roaring cover of Johnny Thunders' epic anthem, "Born To Lose." Unfortunately, I took frontman Ryan Hunter Mitchell at his word when he jokingly riffed on the band's surf-rock sound, telling the crowd Shark Week was from "Long Beach, California." A quick Google search that night turned up squat. Then in August of 2012 the band released its debut EP and I connected the dots: a young hair stylist is fronting one of the best bands in DC, and they sound like a bluesy and modern spin on The Kinks and New York Dolls, punctuated by the kind of energetic fits and howls you only hear in church and great soul-stirring rock 'n' roll. Or apparently, sometimes both simultaneously. I was hooked.

Now I'm beyond pleased to be helping the band press and release their first 7" dubbed Santurce: a two-song double A-side single recorded in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico this past January. The two tracks were cut in the studio of Puerto Rican psych-rock outfit Fantasmes and show off a more versatile and soulful side to Shark Week. On "Baby Maybe," the 'oohs' and 'aahs' are cranked to the max while the drumming carves out a deep and insistent hip-swaying groove, muscular guitar riffs swing and shimmy, and Mitchell's signature full-throated delivery sinks its teeth into all the indefinite "maybes" and unknowns of a relationship on the brink with devilish delight.

Santurce is out July 30th. Pre-order digitally on iTunes or on vinyl from Analog Edition. 

Shark Week - "Baby Maybe"

Dig into the other A-side, "Go West," below.