Shake the Sheets explained

Shake the Sheets
Type:studio
Artist:Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Cover:Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets cover.jpg
Released:October 19, 2004
Recorded:May 17–19, May 20–June 4, 2004
Studio:
Genre:Indie rock, punk rock
Length:39:52
Label:Lookout!
Producer:Chris Shaw
Prev Title:Hearts of Oak
Prev Year:2003
Next Title:Living with the Living
Next Year:2007

Shake the Sheets is the fourth studio album by the Washington, D.C. rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, released in 2004 by Lookout! Records. It was the band's last album for the Lookout! label. A music video was filmed for the single "Me and Mia", a song about a friend of frontman Ted Leo who's battled an eating disorder.[1]

Critical reception

Shake the Sheets received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79, based on 24 reviews.

Nisha Gopalan from Entertainment Weekly wrote about the track listing, "Practically every song is a near-perfect amalgam of straight-up melodies and pogoing beats." Tim Sendra of AllMusic praised the album's stripped-down approach to its messages and instrumentation and Leo for continuing to craft strong musicianship in his vocals and lyrics, concluding with, "Fiercely political without being to specific, filled with moments that will have you jumping out of your seat with excitement, Shake the Sheets is more proof that Ted Leo & the Pharmacists are the only band that matters, punk or otherwise." Alec Hanley Bemis from Blender found criticism in Leo's fast-paced delivery causing his lyrics to feel hazy and lose energy after the first three tracks but praised his musical pastiche of '70s pub rock and '80s punk, along with "a half-dozen modern swing and shuffle rhythms", calling it "a pop-punk update on Springsteen". Rolling Stones Jon Caramanica commended Leo for clearing up his themes and sound while remaining a vocal presence but found the attention to politics muted. Pitchfork contributor Rob Mitchum saw the record moving away from Hearts of Oaks "more aggressively percussive approach," noting the scaling back of Leo's idiosyncratic musical repertoire, the presence of backing band the Pharmacists and the political aspects of the songs being hampered by "unrepresentative cliché-driven lyrical content," but said "while disappointing, Shake the Sheets remains better than most of its current brethren in indie cryostasis."

Tour

On February 13, 2024, Leo announced they will perform the album in its entirety as part of a 20th anniversary tour, starting on June 19 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and finishing on November 16 at The Belasco in Los Angeles.[2]

Personnel

Credits adpated from the album's booklet.[3]

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Additional musicians

Production

Imagery

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mallernee. Ellen. September 5, 2007. Ted Leo Addresses Misconceptions about "Mia and Me," Announces Bassist's Departure. Gibson.com. October 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201012190407/https://legacy.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/News/en-us/Ted-Leo-Addresses-Misconceptio.aspx. October 12, 2020. live.
  2. Web site: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Announce Tour for Shake the Sheets 20th Anniversary. Monroe. Jazz. Pitchfork. February 13, 2024. March 24, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240223052230/https://pitchfork.com/news/ted-leo-and-the-pharmacists-announce-tour-for-shake-the-sheets-20th-anniversary/. February 23, 2024. live.
  3. Shake the Sheets. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. Lookout!. 2004. booklet. LK310CD.