Shannon McArdle – Summer of the Whore

Summer of the Whore – Shannon McArdle

By Chris Peken

Girl joins band. Girl in band likes boy in band. Boy and girl in band get married. Marriage of boy and girl in band goes horribly wrong. Boy and girl in band break up; band implodes. That, in short, is the story of Timothy Bracy, Shannon McArdle and the late great American indie outfit Mendoza Line. Now we have Shannon’s debut solo album Summer of the Whore and that back story is crucial to understanding an album of naked, confessional and occasionally vengeful songs. Breaking up is hard to do, harder when you are in a band together it would appear. Lyrically McArdle is purging much of her last decade, and there is profit to be made from this material. He Was Gone gives full range to McArdle’s sweet voice and This Longing unleashes Sweetheart of the Rodeo –inspired jingle jangle pop of the finest order. Elsewhere the Mazzy Star style slow burn indie pop works best of Paint the Walls but can tend to drift a tad too often. With this one now out of her system, we look forward to the next episode.

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