Painted Shield’s Impressive Debut Connects Despite Its Members Not Collaborating In Person

Painted Shield | Painted Shield | (Loosegroove Records)
4 out of 5 stars

Much music created by bands is the result of in-person interaction where the energy of each member contributes to something bigger than the sum of its parts. That’s not how Painted Shield’s debut came to be.

Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard and introspective singer songwriter Mason Jennings seem a strange combination. But after meeting in 2014, they forged an unlikely musical relationship almost entirely through electronic means. Music was sent and received and an initial single limited to 500 was released. Both stayed busy with other projects but started getting serious about collaborating further earlier this year as the pandemic put the brakes on touring. More emails resulted in veteran Seattle drummer Matt Chamberlain and keyboardist/singer Brittany Davis getting involved in the email process. After lots of tweaking and tinkering, virtually none of it with the musicians together, they hit on a combination of heavy electronic rock combined with Jennings’ more moderate singer/songwriter direction.

From the quirky, psychedelic reggae lope of “On the Level” to the dark Love & Rockets-styled techno/rock groove of  the first single “I Am Your Country” and  the druggy, dreamy noir that gives “Ten Years From Now” its ominous pop underpinnings, Painted Shield creates a unique confluence. There’s even a little edgy Prince-funk in the turbulent, driving “Time Machine.” That this music can be so successfully created with files zipping around the ethers rather than all four members’ talents gelling in one place is partially attributed to the work of noted producer/mixer John Congleton. He took the disparate personalities and joined them into a cohesive if diverse and occasionally twitchy whole.

Jennings handles the singing, his voice shifting between a subtle and more aggressive stance as the music ebbs and flows. Just when you think you have a handle on a track like the B52’s influenced peppy beat of “Evil Winds,” darker keyboards and minor key guitars appear to shift the tune towards an animated psychedelic shuffle with strangulated guitar. The title track “Painted Shield,” which at nearly six minutes is the disc’s longest, begins as sweet pop with backing “ooh-la-la”s before Chamberlain’s drums push it into harder rocking fields. The opening “Orphan Ghost” sets a doomy tone as organic keyboards and guitars mix with electronic percussion until Jennings enters and the tune gradually shifts into more melodic territory.  

It may take a few spins to fully appreciate and absorb the anxious sound and approach of Painted Shield’s eclectic aesthetic, but it’s worth the effort. It’s not clear if a follow-up is planned, but this initial meeting of Gossard and Jennings is a roaring success. And if all the members assemble in person, it might get even better.