There’s one in every high school class. The kid that’s smart enough to talk to the geeks, hip enough to be accepted by the cool kids, and sincere enough to be liked by the parents. I’m pretty sure Shanna Hoar, musically known as Shanna In A Dress, was one of those kids. She just released her first album, Robot, and like the best commentaries, it’s simultaneously humorous and insightful.
Basically the record is a pop/folk project. The title track is mostly acoustic, with just enough synthesizer to hint at a mechanical personality when compared to all the drama that comes with some people. Daddy’s Little Girl likewise is a singer-songwriter style acoustic piece about growing up with divorced parents. The arrangement adds some complexity toward the end as a nod to how relationships change over time. Boomerang is a shinier, happier song with a bit of an island beat to make a story about karma danceable.
Some of Shanna’s best observations come with a very wry sense of humor. Playing With Fire is a pop tune where she relates to not thinking things through fully when “lightning’s striking, looks so damn exciting”. Shitshow is a snarky autobiographical account of being self-aware enough to accept your shortcomings and play to your intellectual strengths. The live-crowd favorite is Mmm That’s Hot. It’s an anthem to a woman’s changing views over time and the verses get both laughs and knowing nods from the audience.
Robot is a musical version of a beach read. It’s not going to win Shanna In A Dress any Pulitzer Prizes. What it does have, though, is a delightful soundtrack to a bunch of mini-memoirs about the life of a 20-something musician humanist. And I’ll bet at least a couple of songs on the record will stick with you a lot longer than all the “serious” music you listen to this summer.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.