Jumping Away from Something Exploding

Shallow moved from Zero Hour to Devil in the Woods with Jumping Away From Something Exploding, an excellent CD containing five new studio recordings and four live performances that were recorded at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS. The live recordings (one of which is "Missile Command," previously heard on High Flyin' Kid Stuff) pack a harder punch than the studio material, but whether the band is on stage or in the studio, the listener finds himself/herself admiring Shallow's attractive sound and enjoying the contrasts it offers. From the live recording "Push" to the studio efforts "Cartoon Balloon," "Turn It Around" and "So Sentimental," it's clear that Shallow loves lush melodies as much as it loves noise and dissonance. One song that perfectly summarizes what Shallow is about is the instrumental "Shoot the Drummer," which incorporates the melody from "The Little Drummer Boy." Shallow captures the melody's sweetness, but that doesn't prevent the Midwesterners from providing a fair amount of distortion. Though High Flyin' Kid Stuff remains Shallow's most essential release of the 1990s, Jumping Away From Something Exploding was a welcome addition to its catalogue.