Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet - Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham	00:51
	2	Reid's Situation	01:17
	3	I Know a Guy Named Larry	01:19
	4	Exit From Vince Lombardi High School	01:30
	5	Aunt's Invasion	01:51
	6	Running Meredith	02:11
	7	Bang Bang	01:59
	8	Hot Box Car	01:33
	9	In My Room	02:13
	10	Dewy Drops of Spring	00:21
	11	5 American 6 Canadian	01:26
	12	Who Painted Whistler's Mother	02:16
	13	Case of the Missing Lady Fingers	02:02
	14	Jackpot	02:01

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	D. Tour	01:53
	2	Hunter S. Thompson's Younger Brother	01:54
	3	Misogomy & the Object	02:13
	4	Ben Hur Picked Off in a Gazebo	00:53
	5	Who's Afraid of Alison Hymer - Wow Flutter Hiss	03:25
	6	You Spin Me Round '86	01:56
	7	Babakganoosh	01:52
	8	Siesta Cinema	02:51
	9	Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham (Reprise)	00:48

Photos

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Information/Write-up

While Savvy Show Stoppers is obviously the most immediately worthwhile of Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet's releases -- and only true fans of the band will feel a need to own more than one of their albums -- Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham is an equally appealing collection of post-indie surf revival; the band's true asset is that they really seem to be more than just a surf band, and there's a sense of rock and variety in Dim the Lights that should appeal well beyond the boundaries of the genre.

Borrowing as much from UK pre-Beatles instrumental legends the Shadows as the reverb-drenched American surfmeisters of the '60s, Toronto's Shadowy Men are a tough act to duct-tape to the chair. These '90s guys keep squirming loose to add unexpected elements to their brew. Benny Goodman's "Swing, Swing, Swing" pops up in "I Know a Guy Named Larry." And "Bang Bang," the Sonny Bono tune, tellingly combines gypsy swagger and 007 intrigue with a rockabilly bridge. Like San Francisco's Mermen, this is kinda surf and kinda not. When the Shadowy Men play Brian Wilson's "In My Room," you can bet they've got a pail of water balanced over the door, just waiting for some sap to walk in.

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet is the seminal Canadian instrumental combo formed in Toronto, in 1984. The band is perhaps best known for providing the theme song to the sketch comedy TV show, The Kids in the Hall. They released three albums before disbanding in 1996, reconstituting once again in 2013. Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham is their second album.

Brian Connelly: guitar, keyboards
Reid Diamond: guitar
Don Pyle: drums

Produced and mixed by Coyote Shivers
Recorded by Ormond Jobin
Recorded at Reaction Studios and Grant Avenue Studio

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