The Shackeltons

Thu., July 29, 9 p.m., $8, with The Cringe, Morning Teleportation and This Temper, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888, thekhyber.com.

by John Vettese

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Published: Jul 27, 2010

John Vettese

Since the last time we checked in on them, Chambersburg five-piece The Shackeltons toured hard with fellow rural ruffians Cage the Elephant and wrote their next album. A half-dozen new tunes were premièred during a late set at The Khyber earlier this month, and these songs dig deep, extending singer Mark Redding's love-and-abandonment concerns beyond the romantic and into the familial. There's "Mum," a gritty surf/soul rocker where he pines, "I lost my mum on the evening of the storm." There's "Feet," a turbulent torrent of post-hardcore guitars and temperamental breaks where "You sabotaged my ideas" is cried like a mantra (watch a live video of that last one at citypaper.net/criticalmass). They might be in studio mode at present, but the band is a tight unit nonetheless, Redding playing a charismatic frontman by dancing, spinning, gesturing and howling. He's an Ian Svenonius for the landlocked punk set.

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