Review Summary: Shim mostly picks up where "Connect" left off.
It's been over four years since Shimon Moore was ousted from Sick Puppies, the band that he founded and did lead vocals/guitar for. About two years after Sick Puppies released their first album without him, Shim has returned with his self titled debut. Sick Puppies mostly went back to a heavier sound similar to "Tri-Polar" and Shim's album is mostly more similar to "Connect." It's been far from a smooth few years for him, but the final result is pretty damn good.
After leaving Sick Puppies, Shimon released the song "Rockstar" and a preview of "Our Time" (which also appeared in full on SoundCloud) with his new band Screaming at Demons. But things fell through with Screaming at Demons, and Shim did not have much luck in getting a project started with anyone else or getting a label deal that he found satisfactory. Finally he just got some recording gear, produced the album, and released it himself.
The album certianly features heavier songs like "A Brand New War", "Crucified", "Stings Like a Bitch", and "Hallelujah", which may be more likely to please fans of Tri-Polar. But most of the music seems more like a natural evolution of the more contemplative direction that "Connect" took. "Fearless", " Broken Men", and "Kaleidoscopes" are great follow-ups to "Run", "Our Time" works well as a sequel to "There's No Going Back", and "All of Me" is somewhat reminiscent of "Connect". Also, the more southern rock sounding "Stings Like a Bitch" is a pretty natural follow-up to "Gunfight", especially because both are about politics. Now, when I make these comparisons, I'm not saying that this album is just a copy of Connect. What it does is build off of and improve upon the musical and lyrical direction that Connect took. All of the songs that I just mentioned (besides "Stings Like a Bitch") are better than the Sick Puppies songs that I compared them to. Also, there is a lot more gospel influence throughout them that wasn't a key factor previously, which helps to set this album apart and make it distinct from past material.
Musically, the album is all pretty well done. There are piano parts in "Don't Wake Me Up" and "Fearless" that definitely work well for them, some enjoyable guitar leads in songs like "All of Me" "Our Time", and "A Brand New War", and the production value is well done all the way through. Shim's vocal performance is similar how it's been his past material, and it shines in new ways in the heavy gospel driven songs like "Hallelujah". It's worth noting that the the lack of Emma's back up singing and Bass playing are noticeable in the album for anyone who's comparing it to Shim's music with Sick Puppies. She has a great voice, and some definate skill on the bass that has always been present on their albums. But there aren't any songs in the album that feel incomplete without her musicianship being present on them, so it's not that big a deal. Also. The lack of Emma's bass licks is more than made up for by a strong majority of the tracks featuring solid guitar leads, which is much more than Shim's music has usually had in the past. The high amount of guitar leads is also another thing that helps separate this album from his former work, and make it more unique.
Lyrically, there is a lot to praise. "Fearless" points out that "you can't fall down if you don't get up, but that's crazy", and "Our Time" insists that "everything that's meant to be can change". "Kaleidoscopes" and "Broken Men" sing a similar message of self-improvement and pushing through life's trials. These empowering lyrics throughout the album that come across very authentically, and are probably the biggest highlight of the album. Shim has definitely overcome some obsticals to put the album out, so it makes sense that so many songs in the album are about finding meaning and pushing through the trials that life throws at you.
The only song that is problematic lyrically in the album is "Stings Like a Bitch", which is pretty clearly an anti-Trump track. Now, I liked the politically charged "Gunfight" from Connect, but his new commentary on politics is not great. Now, I'm all for criticizing Donald Trump, and Shim points out some valid problems with the man. He sings, "don't think I'll ever understand... you run your mouth like a marathon, being a prick must turn you on", which is totally true from my perspective. The problem comes with the line, "can't wait to see your face on the edge of a fist." When you're criticizing a president who has flirted with political violence, it's totally self-defeating to in return flirt with political violence against him. Yes, if Trump is as bad Hitler, it's great to hope for violence against him. But Trump was elected by the normal process, we have checks and balances to prevent much of his worst impulses, and he's not calling to murder millions of innocent people. Maybe he'll turn out to be Hitler, and Shim's flirt with political violence here would be justified, but I can pretty confidently say that it is bad for Shim to be singing lines like this, just like it's bad when Trump flirts with political violence. Now, you can look at the lyric as a metaphor, but the problem is that it still has the appearance of flirting with political violence, so it's better to just avoid it altogether.
"A Brand New War" (the heaviest song on the album) is a "I'm back mf's!" sort of song, and while the lyrics aren't spectacular, they are benign enough, fun, and accomplish the intended purpose of the song well. "Secrets" is about a secret romance with someone who's known as being hard to get. It's more pop driven, pretty cheesy and undeniably catchy. "Crucified" presents a person who's been screwed over and is pissed off, and "Don't Wake Me Up", the most mellow song on the album, is a very personal song about being in a dark place that will hopefully be temperary.
In conclusion, Shim has returned with an album that is comparable in quality to his work with Sick Puppies, and pretty much picks up right where his last album with them.The album is pretty consistantly well done musically and the lyrics are generally impressive, with only one song containing any serious problems lyrically. Also, Shim features more gospel influence and guitar leads than was usually present in his work with Sick Puppies, which helps make this album distinctive from any of his previous work. If you have enjoyed any of Sick Puppies material (especially the music from "Connect"), than I highly recommend giving this album a listen.
