Photo Credit: James Hand
Fresh off winning an Orlando Weekly Award for ‘Best Local Album,’ Orlando, FL-based garage-soul outfit The Sh-booms will kick off the next leg of their The Blurred Odyssey Tour in support of their critically-acclaimed LP The Blurred Odyssey.
The band is supporting KOLARS on this run of dates throughout the Southeast, which runs from September 17 to September 28.
Band leader Al Ruiz says, “We’re excited to embark on the next leg of the Blurred Odyssey release tour supporting our mates, KOLARS! Joining us on tour is projectionist Pez D. Spencer of Man Or Astroman?. With the addition of his visuals to our set, the live show has become auditory and ocular mayhem. We hope to see a ton of familiar faces in the crowd.”
Check out a tour teaser video here: https://youtu.be/oXBCFaucGrQ.
Since their 2011 inception, The Sh-Booms have become kind of a thing in their native scene and beyond. Besides perennial winners of “Best Soul Act” in the Orlando Weekly’s big annual ‘Best of Orlando’ issue, they’ve been tapped to share the stage with national names like The Roots, Of Montreal, Talib Kweli, KRS-One, Jacuzzi Boys, Budos Band, Big Freedia, Lee Fields, St. Paul & the Broken Bones and The B-52’s (whom the band toured with in 2017 and 2018). They’ve been featured on NPR, their music has made it on TV (CW’s Supergirl) and they’ve played Austin City Limits, Okeechobee Music Festival, SunFest and Gasparilla Music Festivals.
“Leon The Hustler,” the first single off The Blurred Odyssey was dubbed none other than the “Coolest Song In The World” by Little Steven’s Underground Garage, while outlets such Flood Magazine, PopMatters, Spill Magazine and others raved about the album.
Since powerhouse singer Brenda Radney joined in 2015, the band’s course has been locked, their date with destiny set. She was signed to Justin Timberlake’s Tennman label, even appearing on his album, The 20/20 Experience, Pt. 2. But after clicking with band leader Al Ruiz while recording separately in the same studio, she jumped aboard The Sh-Booms to turn this train into a true locomotive.
After the release of their 2016 Usage Fee EP and a countless number of shows in the Southeast, the 10 songs along The Blurred Odyssey were produced by Grammy-nominated Alan Armitage (AA Villain) over an 18-month span that cemented the band as a tight-knit unit. That chemistry achieved is where The Sh-Booms are now, and The Blurred Odyssey is their testament.
Although a soul band through and through, the grease and bite they’ve been picking up in the years leading up to this big step out have been forged in the bad company of punk and garage bands. From that underground now rises a new hurricane of big orchestration, maximum stomp and fresh intent. It’s a little ache and a lot of party all wrapped up in a wrecking ball.
LISTEN to ‘The Blurred Odyssey‘ here:
Spotify – STREAM
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