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photos: Matthew James
Shadow Monster is frontwoman and guitarist Gillian Visco’s alter ego and title of her dejected grunge pop project with longtime drummer and collaborator John Swanson. Visco screams and sighs into the abyss of grief in hopes of transforming that pain into bliss through catchy choruses and heartbreakingly relatable lyrics about the immense weight of being human on planet earth.
The band’s upcoming LP, DOG, (mixed and mastered by Omer Leibovitz) lifts the band's sadcore grungy sound into new territory with memorable refrains and recurring counter melodies pulling influence from doo-wop, early punk, grunge and emo eras. The album examines life after a relationship gone awry, where one has to start from scratch... again.
The songs flirt with delusion, boasting of love stories where there never were any. It hopes, and pines, and goes out late at night hunting for that thing it has been missing. DOG sits comfortably in its solitude, grappling with themes of death and grief whilst keeping a firm grasp on a dim torch of hope. Similar to its predecessor, Punching Bag - released October 2019 on DADSTACHE RECORDS - DOG is full of metaphor, imagery, and brutal honesty, especially in songs like "Goodwill" where Visco sifts through the death of her father. In live shows, Nikki Sisti (of THICK) rounds out the trio, summoning the beating of your heart back into your chest with booming, fuzzy basslines adding to the vibrant wall of sound best enjoyed with your local dive bar’s beer and shot combo.
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