Now I'm Ready

Album review

Following their overly dramatic, disappointing debut full-length At Home (2013), Greek indie electronic pop duo Keep Shelly in Athens lost singer Sarah P. and switched record labels, moving from Cascine to Friends of Friends. New vocalist Myrtha sounds a bit more airy and slightly less Sarah Cracknell-esque than Sarah P., but it's unlikely that most listeners will notice the difference, especially given how much echo her vocals are bathed in. Musically, the duo step back and reconsider their approach a bit, cutting down on the more bombastic tendencies of their previous album (such as dubstep beats) while keeping the dreaminess intact, resulting in an album that is far shorter and more focused than its predecessor. As ever, they maintain an enthusiasm for incorporating different styles of music into their sound, ranging from the upbeat new wave of "Silent Rain" to the hip-hop beats and scratching of "Hunter." "Hollow Man" rides a lightly rolling drum'n'bass beat, successfully resurrecting the late-'90s atmospheric jungle of LTJ Bukem and Peshay while sidestepping the smooth jazz cheesiness that the genre devolved into. Perhaps the album's most impressive, risk-taking moment is "Line 4 (Orange)," which combines a slowed-down, stretched-out Italo-disco synth bassline with dubby drums and atmospheric effects, along with tape-warped vocals that strangely sound like Gregorian chanting at times. A few moments get somewhat cheesy, such as the '80s power ballad vocals and processed post-grunge guitar on "Nobody," or the occasional male backup vocals that sound like the guy from the Real McCoy, but they're still better executed than the most cringe-worthy moments of At Home. A little bit of restraint goes a long way for Keep Shelly in Athens, as their second album retains the creative spirit that made their early EPs so intriguing without succumbing to the dramatic, overbearing impulses that bogged down their first album.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo