The Soulshake Express, The Soulshake Express

The Soulshake Express’s self-titled EP is apparently an amalgamation of several different eras of musical style. The sound ranges from very late ’60s rock to rock with a modern edge — but never one single decade at the same time; there are elements of each present in almost every track. The guitars have a strong classic-rock, almost southern-rock, feel, while the keyboards are very Doors-esque. There are some guitar licks that scream ’80s rock, but the mixed effect of retro and recent keeps it pretty blended.

The five-member Swedish group consists of David Ericksson on lead guitar and vocals, Marcus Andersson on rhythm guitar, Robert Schlyter on bass, Joakim Eriksson on drums, and Martin Hammar on those completely awesome keyboards. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this is primarily a guitar-driven EP with some drum and keyboard icing. The music is very free and very laid-back, without a whole lot of substance, lyrics-wise. The EP has five tracks, starting off with “Introducing T.S.E,” an intro that is just over a minute in length — it may be short, but it’s a nice overview of the Soulshake sound. “Feel It” is next in line and has a nice breakdown about midway through that picks back up with a guitar solo toward the end. “Dirty Woman” has a hard rock theme straight from the ’80s, and the most classic-rock-tinged track on the EP is “Whiskey (And The Blues),” which has a old-fashioned guitar duel, although it does feel a little too rehearsed. For the life of me, I can’t think of anything but the movie Rock Star when I hear “Weekend Man”; it just conjures up that whole leather pants, anthem rock, flashing lights, and shirtless sweaty six-pack abs thing.

The Soulshake Express gives the ultimate impression that this is a band that grabs their instruments, downs a few brews, and starts up a jam session. In truth, this album would be better off as background music, as it really isn’t bringing anything new to the table in the way of lyrics, innovation, or musical style. All in all, though, the band’s not completely awful, especially if you just want some rock without any strings attached.