Photo of Shiner by Todd Zimmer
In the Summer of 1995, Kansas City’s Shiner opened for Ed Hall at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS. Ed Hall was a band, not a person. For what it’s worth, I don’t remember anything about Shiner from that show. It’s not an overstatement to point out that 30 years is almost half a lifetime ago. Of the gentlemen who were in Shiner that day, front man Allen Epley is the only one who remains. The people playing in Shiner now were in divergent points of their musical lives. Drummer Jason Gerken was in Molly McGuire. Guitarist Josh Newton was in Glazed Baby and Paul Malinowski was playing bass in Season to Risk. You’d have to wonder about any band who after 30 years still sounded the same.
One of the handy features of Bandcamp is the keywords at the bottom of the page for all the releases. Your favorite genre is Emo Rap?? Want to know what other artists fancy themselves as Emo-Rap? It’s only a click away. Not to be presumptuous, but Shiner’s Allen Epley clearly has a thing about space. The keywords on Shiner’s Bandcamp page are Post-Hardcore, Post-Rock, Pre-Post-Rock, and Space Rock. Now, if you were thinking to yourself, “Space Rock? Isn’t that what The Life and Times are?” Nope, you are wrong. The Life and Times are Alternative, Think Rock, and Spacecrunk, thank you very much.
In case it escaped your radar, back in 2020 Shiner re-formed and released their fifth LP, Schadenfreude. It was released amid a worldwide pandemic. What can you do when your new album is released at a less-than-ideal time? For Shiner guitarist Josh Newton, you do it with a quip. “Great timing on our part,” Newton said. Schadenfreude was a change. Not a paradigm shift, mind you, but different from what came before. Yet, Shiner was still Shiner.
As was with Schadenfreude’s “In the End,” BELIEVEYOUME begins with “Asleep In The Trunk,” a song that informs the listener that this is a Shiner record. While Shiner has clearly evolved, there are still enough moments that listener knows they are listening to is obviously a Shiner record. You will know that falsetto when you hear it. If the music video is to be read literally, the song is about a relationship that has gone bad. Like “abducting your boyfriend, throwing him into the trunk of your car, binding his hands and ankles, and throwing him into a lake” bad. Regardless of the song’s meaning, it’s a strong beginning. “The Alligator” and “The Mutiny” both start mid-tempo only to get loud. But it’s after that that BYM begins to earn its Space Rock tag. If you visualize in your mind’s eye, “So Far So,” “My Mirror Hates Me,” and “Endless Summer” and the “Pills” throwback “Lazarus” would all pair well with Apollo 11 footage: Both real and Kubrick. However, it is with the back third of BYM that the album really takes off.
I don’t know if there’s an actual term for when that happens in “Not Too Much” but a couple minutes in, there is an interlude where all the other instruments go silent except for a single guitar strumming the melody only for the others to roar back. I’ve always been a sucker for loudish songs where that happens. Also, tacked on at the end is a studio outtake of an unknown person proclaiming, “That was really fucking good.” To which I concur.
During the penultimate “Broken Satellites,” I had visions of standing in front of an industrial fan as it blows warm air in your face that’s pleasant and familiar whilst strobes blind your vision. The outro “Jackie” feels like a reprise where everything comes full circle. As the shortest song on this record, it’s a fitting end to this record. The tracking of BELIVEYOUME works well. There’s never a point that feels jarring or fractured. BYM further establishes Shiner as they are now instead of who they once were. | David Lichius
Note: For this release on Spartan Records[1] Shiner pressed multiple colors (Transparent Green, Britannica Marble (EU/UK) Electric Blue/Pink Marble (Japan) and Tropical Sunset (Independent record stores)[2] At present, two of them are already sold out (Orange with Black Buttons and Pink/White Marble). Bandcampers should take note as lovers of physical media will get a little bit extra as CD and vinyl copies will have two bonus tracks (“I’ll Never Need You Again” and “Captured By Death”) that you won’t get with just a download. Both tracks were not included in review copies.
[1] Spartan Records has in recent years become the landing spot for 1990s and 2000s rock musicians doing something new. Current bands include ex-Sunny Day Real Estate, Small Brown Bike, Roadside Monument, Milemarker, Minus the Bear, Seaweed, Snapcase, The Dismemberment Plan, The Vehicle Birth, Christie Front Drive, Mineral, and Boys Life. Sorry, no ex-Braid.
[2] For some strange reason, it made me think of the opening of Family Guy where Peter Griffin lists in a deadpan voice, every single show that was also cancelled by Fox since they were cancelled after their third season. “Do you have Shiner’s The Egg? Why yes, what color variant would you like? What do you have? We have Orange. White/Orange. Green. Orange/White Half & Half. Opaque Orange. Koi Pond Marble. Orange/White Pinwheel. Transparent Orange. Sunspot Marble and Black In Orange. Is that it? No. We also have black.” What about Lula Divinia? Mustard Yellow. Sapphire Marble. Milky Clear With Mustard Yellow, Cyan, And White Splatter…
Shiner on tour:
10.05.25: Casbah @ 8:30 PM, San Diego, CA
10.06.25: Mojave Gold @ 8:00 PM, Yucca Valley, CA
10.07.25: Permanent Records Roadhouse @ 6:00 PM, Los Angeles, CA
10.08.25: Transplants Brewing Company @ 7:30 PM, Palmdale, CA
10.09.25: Winters Tavern @ 8:00 PM, Pacifica, CA
10.10.25: John Henry’s @ 8:00 PM, Eugene, OR
10.11.25: Kelly’s Olympian @ 8:00 PM, Portland, OR
10.12.25: Sunset Tavern @ 8:00 PM, Seattle, WA
10.13.25: Neurolux Lounge @ 8:00 PM, Boise, ID
10.15.25: Hi-Dive @ 7:00 PM, Denver, CO
10.16.25: The Press @ 8:00 PM, Manhattan, KS
10.17.25: O’ Leaver’s @ 9:00 PM, Omaha, NE
10.18.25: Warehouse On Broadway @ 8:00 PM, Kansas City, MO
11.05.25: Magnolia Bar @ 7:00 PM, Louisville, KY
11.07.25: Black Circle Brewing Co. @ 8:00 PM, Indianapolis, IN
11.08.25: Beachland Ballroom & Tavern @ 8:00 PM, Cleveland, OH
11.10.25: O’Briens Pub @ 8:00 PM, Boston, MA
11.11.25: Mercury Lounge @ 8:00 PM, New York, NY
11.12.25: Kung Fu Necktie @ 8:00 PM, Philadelphia, PA
11.14.25: 25 Carrick Ave @ 7:00 PM, Pittsburgh, PA
11.15.25: Small’s @ 8:00 PM, Hamtramck, MI
