April 28th, 2013 
Grace Duffy 
Artist: Sharks
Album: Selfhood
Genre: Punk/rock
Label: Rise Records
This album is a tough one to categorise. It kind of slips in and out nonchalantly, never really begging your attention until it’s suddenly, abruptly gone. It’s short and slight and undemanding, a kind of moody, sullen meditation composed more for private appreciation than an audience. It’s actually difficult to imagine any of these songs being played in a live setting as they sound so intensely introspective. There is plenty of life in the guitars throughout but the vocals are quite sombre; even bleak at times. Selfhood comes across as something unassuming and personal, a contemplative charade to exorcise inner demons more than anything that might set an audience alight. It does seem like an odd one from Sharks after 2012’s uproarious No Gods, but it’s no less elegant or enjoyable or pure. It’s something more refined, perhaps, and demands more of your attention without actively striving to grasp it.
Where their last album was more raucous and bold, Selfhood captures the same band at a different moment. The flair and rampant pace of their guitars remains firmly intact but it’s allied to something earthier and more naturalistic. Instead of exploding onto the scene, it kind of trundles in, staring at the ground and narrating the dusty outlines it sees there. It’s far from plain and it’s not a depressing listen by any means, but it feels so much more ordinary that it could easily (and wrongly) be dismissed. Rather, what Sharks have achieved here is the telling of the same lives and spark and energy through a murkier curtain. Frontman James Maddock has said that he wrote most of the lyrics while living above a morgue with no heating, bathroom, or running water and that rather austere image has been well translated. It’s difficult to explain what makes Selfhood loveable, as its simplicity seems to transcend the need for detailed descriptions. But there is a familiarity to the mixture of bleak singing and warmer music that gives it distinct allure.
“Selfhood” and “Your Bloody Wings” wander in on sparking, enthusiastic guitars and languid vocals. Maddock’s singing is deserving of particular praise. Toned down from earlier Sharks albums, he’s an aloof but compelling centre, clipping the pace in the music. His heavily-accented vocals are stark but feel more current and organic and suit the rawness of the instruments. “I Won’t Taint” is crisp and methodical, rolling through its notes with a pleasing rhythm. It’s amiable and simple but enriched with a sense of the exquisite, a more everyday and accessible kind of beauty that needs only a vibrant lead guitar to bring it out.
That said, when Selfhood goes in a more overtly evocative direction, the results are among the most rewarding on the record. “Pale,” about the writer and painter Billy Childish, is a much darker track. It adopts a quieter tone and more exposed, fragmented lyrics delivered in deadpan, despondent vocals. The caustic guitar harmonies and crashing music only serve to emphasise the desperate lowness of the emotions. “My Wild One” is also very different. Quiet, indistinct, and minimalistic, its sudden appearance marks a more low-key ending to an otherwise brusque and grainy album. It seems to tiptoe carefully through its notes and reflections before erupting in one final crescendo. It’s hardly a revolutionary move to numb the music before a big finale but it is the abrupt and unexpected nature of this song that makes it so effective. It appears as if from nowhere to signal the end of the record, which after a series of brusque and grainy songs still feels like it’s just beginning. The aesthetics of the song are in keeping with the intimacy that Selfhood professes to capture and offer a clearer, more vivid image of what the album is about.
A surprisingly compelling listen, Selfhood is a very rich album realised in the simplest of terms. It doesn’t build itself up or outstay its welcome but offers a number of curt, thought-provoking tracks before quietly petering out again. It’s a more conscientious effort than we’re used to from Sharks but very skilfully rendered.
SCORE: 8/10
Review written by Grace Duffy
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