Shift want to be rich

In the mid 1990's the term post hardcore was rather all encompassing. If you ask me the post hardcore sound was defined by 4 bands Quicksand, Fugazi, Orange 9mm, and Helmet. Post hardcore however became a genre that suddenly became flooded with imitators obviously some way worse than others. Though it was a genre that seemed poised for great success it would never receive as much acclaim as fans and labels expected it to. One band who fits the criteria was New York's Shift.

Shift's debut ep was released on Equal Vision Records in 1994. Titled "Pathos" the ep was heavily influenced by Quicksand, although not as brooding and angry as Quicksand was at the time. "Pathos" was laced heavily with grooves, driving melodic rhythms, and importantly not too complex. Vocalist Joshua Loucka's nasal and fragile voice stand out over the material, at times feeling as if they don’t mesh well, something that in my opinion wasn’t until their second album "Spacesuit" that Loucka really finds his voice.

"Spacesuit" was released in 1995 and by this point Shift had a much clearer concept of what they were trying to achieve. Though similar in style to "Pathos", this record was way more rock influenced and vocalist Loucka became less of a background voice and moved in as one of focal points of the group. Still just as driving, Shift quickened the pace a bit on "Spacesuit" and were not afraid to slow it down with a ballad like "Dress Up". Something that few groups could have pulled off at the time without getting fed to the wolves. Perhaps it was tracks like that which made a label Columbia realize that Shift could be ready for commercial success.

By this time Shift had added second guitarist Mark Holcomb (Nineironspitfire, Dempsey) which filled out a lot of their sound considering this entire time they were only a 3 piece. The band signed to Columbia in 1997 and released the very ambitious rock record "Get In". While it was similar in style to their previous releases, it was clear that Shift was trying to broaden their sound, something that perhaps didn’t sit well with their hardcore fan base. Though listening to it now I can see the obvious maturity of the material, it was clearly the debut single from "Get In" that may have spoiled their stardom. "I Want To Be Rich" was simply too ambitious, too rock star, too everything that hardcore at the time wanted no part of and for some reason rock listeners didn’t want it either.

Although I can find no mention of an official breakup, I assume it wasn’t very long after the release and tours supporting "Get In" that they disbanded. Vocalist Joshua went on to form The Big Collapse which released its debut on The Militia Group before disbanding. Drummer Samantha somehow managed to join Motley Crue and later went on to play alongside Courtney Love in Hole.

I have uploaded a track from each of their three releases. All of these albums can be found for only a few dollars on amazon and ebay, so I highly encourage you to pick them up.

From the "Pathos" EP: Sunflower
From the "Spacesuit" CD: Pinprick
From the "Spacesuit" CD: Dress Up
From the "Get In" CD: In Honor Of Myself
From the "Get In" CD: I Want To Be Rich