Shannon & the Clams have been a staple of the Oakland surf rock scene for over a decade. But in the few years since their last album, 2018’s Onion, which paid tribute to those lost in the horrific Ghost Ship warehouse fire in 2016, loss and unthinkable tragedy have shifted them from their origins. Even before the pandemic and the tornado that hit Nashville, where the group recorded their new album Year of the Spider, bandleader Shannon Shaw had a horrific experience with a peeping tom that forced her out of her home, followed by the news that her father was diagnosed with cancer. All this fueled the band’s forthcoming sixth album, which they finished recorded in 2019. Then 2020 happened.
Now Shannon & the Clams are finally ready to release Year of the Spider, and we’re getting the first impression of it with lead single “Midnight Wine.” Guitarist/vocalist Cody Blanchard explained the song’s inspiration in a press release: “When I wrote this song, I was thinking of friends I’ve had that have died from drug addiction and that feeling of desperation that drives you to seek shelter from reality in drugs. I’ve watched so many artists and outsiders around me struggle and flounder in this way. They die when they can’t find community or peace. It’s heartbreaking.”
Shannon Shaw went on to reveal that her worst fear became an inspiration for the album. “I am terrified of spiders, but my mom always told me that they are drawn to me,” she said. “The symbolism of the spider made a full turn in an interesting way. I was getting protection from the thing I feared the most.”
Hear “Midnight Wine” below, and pre-order Year of the Spider here.
