Shakey Graves ploughs his own furrow in atmospheric and enigmatic fashion with songs and a sound which draw you in.
He may have a name which sounds as if he should be a cemetery worker in a Simpsons episode, but Shakey Graves is, in fact, Alejandro Rose-Garcia, an Austin, Texas-based singer/songwriter and DIY musician (and occasional actor; his credits include a part in Spy Kids 3!). The stage name was apparently bestowed upon him by friends sitting around a campfire at a music festival in 2007 after an encounter with a rambling stranger, high on LSD. This quirky and unconventional genesis fits with the music on this album, which creeps up and encircles you in a beguiling way. This record is a real grower.
Graves has been releasing music for some 15 years and, among the packed Austin, Texas, musical field, he is a pretty well-known name. His 2014 album, And War Came, bagged a nomination for Album of the Year at the following year’s Americana Music Awards (losing out to Lucinda Williams’ Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone). He has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. In 2021, a re-release of his debut album Roll The Bones (retitled Roll The Bones X) even reached number 136 on the Billboard 200 (rarefied heights for Americana music!). When his tour reaches London in September 2026, he is playing the Islington Assembly Hall, with its 950 capacity.
However, this quietly growing renown is not the result of him compromising his musical style; he is a musician who ploughs his own distinct furrow. You need to come to him, not the other way round. That can spell longevity in the musical world. There is an air of mystery to his sound and his vocals, which whisper, float, and grab at the same time. In support, he plays guitar, drums, synthesiser, and the Optigan, an obscure electronic keyboard instrument derived from the optical organ. A number of the tracks are enhanced by the use of a string quartet and the occasional female backing vocal, as well as outside noises like birdsong or passing trains. His hazy, slightly unsteady, but expressive voice combines with his unusual instrumental backing to produce what the album’s press release describes as “woozy, avant-garde folk and restrained indie rock“. Those enticed by such a description to seek out the record will find themselves richly rewarded. Those who are not should nevertheless take the plunge, because this is actually warm, melodic and inviting music with staying power. Comparisons are not easy, but perhaps Bonnie Prince Billy or Elliott Smith might come to mind.
What about the lyrics? Well, these are not quite as other-worldly as you might expect from the introduction above. His songs convey the insights into love, emotions and relationships which many songwriters grapple with. Although he is now a married man with a child, his songs generally have a fairly melancholy feel. On Don’t Change A Thing, he says, “Try to have some fun/but then I clean my gun and stay awake all night”. On When Love Is New, a song with a compelling acoustic guitar riff led with a percussive backbeat, he ponders that there is “Something wrong/Something to prove/Say it doesn’t matter when love is new”.
He finds time for a cover version of Frankie Sunswept’s, Time Flies, which is perhaps the most romantic and straightforward song on the record, with the universal sentiment that “Time flies when you’re with the one you love”.
Suddenly is the first of two instrumentals, starting with a ticking clock, and then a consistent background beat supporting a melodic, but slightly discordant, tune which wends its way over the top. The other is I Once Was An Ocean which would have fitted right into the first series of Twin Peaks with its eerie feel and twangy guitar. This is followed by Away It Goes, in which, in hushed vocals, we learn “The house is getting bigger while everything in life gets small”.
The intriguingly titled The Boilermaker may, perhaps, be referring to a local bar since Graves mournfully laments that “Hey I’m a big time spender/Looks like nothing in life is free” so “Give me one more for the road” since it “Looks like another cold night for me”. On My Own is another sad one. With an effective female backing vocal, Graves asserts that “The heart is the only real estate” and “Forgetting is the hardest part/I broke your heart/I did it on my own”.
The album concludes with No Place To Be, with the singer concluding that it is “Just me/Standing at the top of life’s lonely hill”.
Despite the downbeat tone of some of the songs, this is a very listenable album. There is always something interesting, instrumentally, and sometimes vocally, going on in the background while Graves ruminates on life, love and time. He is described as a DIY artist, so it will be intriguing to see him perform live. For an album apparently recorded in a month, a lot of care, thought, and talent have gone into this record.
