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Aces Eights & Heartbreaks

by The Shang Hi Los

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Billy 02:56
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Castaway 03:20
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Ingenue 03:05

about

"This is a great, great album. You need to check it out. What an album, what a song." - Michael Des Barres #CSW #LSUG The Underground Garage

"That rare band with dueling male-female singers, Dan Kopko and Jen Angora, The Shang Hi-Los, create a beautiful noise mixing Phils Spector girl group and Cheap Trick by way of Blondie Power Pop into a mai-tai blender of semi-retro coolness." - Rock Is the New Roll

"Imagine a mix between the best Seventies Glam-rock, Sixties Girl-bands and the more memorable moments of New Wave pop… There’s more to the recipe, of course, but I think these elements will give you a good indication of where the Shang Hi Los are going. There are certainly comparisons to be made with the first three or four Blondie albums, in the way that they could switch and embrace different styles but always end up sounding like themselves. The production is really sharp, bringing the melodies and harmonies to the forefront without losing any of the energy or momentum of the individual songs. Hand-claps and stompin’ feet add to the taste, making this an excellent treat. Don’t be silly, be sure to hear the Shang Hi Los as soon as you can!" - Fear And Loathing Fanzine

"The 2021 EP Kick It Like A Wicked Habit was a promising debut for this Boston super group, but Aces Eights & Heartbreaks totally blows it out of the water. While the influences for this release vary from garage rock to new wave to punk rock to power pop to spaghetti Westerns, what comes through here is that The Shang Hi Los are above all else a great rock and roll band. And the world can always use more great rock and roll bands. This record has got it all: killer riffs, magnificent vocals, radio-worthy choruses, awesome guitar solos, epic drumming, massive production, and melodies that will stick with you." - Lord Rutledge

"On these nine songs, The Shang Hi Los constantly shift between retro rock with a very direct punch, singing sweetly and exploring old style pop-rock, but ‘Aces, Eights and Heartbreaks’ never feels as if it lacks direction. This band turns out some great hooks and above all, they know how to entertain. This album is everything the EP promised, and more. Whether you’re new to the band or a lover of their previous recordings, this is a release that comes highly recommended." - Real Gone

"Boston-based Shang Hi Los share a similar aesthetic to bandmate Sal Baglio, dealing in garage rock/roadhouse tropes with punk energy. “Takes One To Know One” is a raging river of rolling keyboards and percussion with an urgent Dan Kopko vocal. When Jen D’Angora sings, as on “Monsieur Valentine,” she summons echoes of the Shangri-Las, intended or not. “Billy” begins with a Spanish trumpet fanfare suitable for the Rango soundtrack. Shades of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass on “The Brave Bull.” “These Four Walls” carry more than a hint of ur punk, including the Ramones with a dollop of the Velvet Underground. Rollicking roadhouse rock." - Bloody Red Baron, Pop Geek Heaven

"I played a lot of titles from the 1st mini-album of this 'super group' from Boston on the show. And I'm totally bewitched by their 1st album! Somewhere between Power Pop and New Wave (Joe Jackson, Blondie, Costello) and a kind of Burt Baccharian vision of Rock and Pop that we love, the one that ignores eras and labels with the sole objective of composing great songs!" - Radio Campus Grenoble

"Like any great rock album should, Aces Eights & Heartbreaks comes roaring out of the gates. "Takes One To Know One" is energetic, fun, and musically irresistible — a side 1/track 1 that even prime Cheap Trick would have envied. "Monsieur Valentine" sounds like the best Blondie song in decades (if it's not released as a single for Valentine's Day, that will be an opportunity missed!). With the bar set that high, the Shangs keep it going all the way to the end. The title track is a legit good stab at disco pop that has "couples' roller skate 1980" written all over it. "Plymouth Rock" is perfect punky power pop. "These Four Walls" and "Ingenue" are pure rockers with hooks for days. And of course there's "Billy" — a recently anointed Coolest Song in the World on Little Steven's Underground Garage. Why did I wait so long to mention the hit? Well on an album like this one, every song's a hit!" - Faster And Louder

"D’Angora has spent much of her artistic output in specific niches – punk, garage rock, girl group pop. With the Shang Hi Los, she and her bandmates pull it all together and some new twists. “Aces Eights & Heartbreaks” detours into power pop, Spaghetti Western vibes, hard rock and Cheap Trick (a genre unto itself). But taken as a whole, it’s just a great rock ‘n’ roll record that feels free of any specific genre, free of any artifice." - Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald

"If you like Girls Groups, Wall Of Sound and productions of Christmas songs then you will be, like me, very excited by this album. Which never sinks into the cutesy thanks to the really Rock background of its members. But she/they love BEAUTIFUL SONGS but don't exclude energy. The female and male voices that alternate and/or complement each other here have an extended register that fits perfectly with each mood represented here. Taut or elastic, each song hits the mark!" - Voix de Garage

"D'Angora, Kopko, Harrington, Feirrera, Boston. That's all you need to know, really. With Aces Eights And Heartbreaks The Shang Hi Los has broken any promise they perhaps made with its debut album 'Kick It Like A Wicked Habit'. Aces Eights And Heartbreaks is the next level. This is pop, punk, garage rock (and roll) and Blondie all in one." - WoNo Blog

"When The Shang Hi Los debuted their Kick It Like A Wicked Bad Habit EP two years ago, we immediately fell in love with the Boston-based rock ‘n’ roll outfit (not entirely unexpected, given the band members’ past, but that aside). So good news that Jen D’Angora (vocals, guitar), Dan Kopko (vocals, guitar), Lee Harrington (bass, vocals) and Chuck Ferreira (drums, percussion) are now back with a full-length album called Aces Eights & Heartbreaks. Once again Jen and Dan have managed to write strong songs, and the synergy between their strong voices has remained, but their musical palette has broadened a bit. In hit single Billy, for example, they inimitably combine a spaghetti western soundtrack with a girl group sound, in which halfway through there also appears to be room for a guitar solo that would not have been out of place in an 80s hard rock anthem. Uniting the best of the past 60 years, The Shang Hi Los show that rock ‘n’ roll still is alive and kicking." - Add To Want List

"From the opening track, “Takes One To Know One,” it’s clear that the band is firing on all cylinders, with driving guitar riffs, pounding drums, and a frenetic energy that is impossible to resist. Highly Recommended." - Power Popaholic

"Hell, Plymouth was my number 1 a year ago and Billy entered at #1 the first week of March 2022. The new album is amazing. Glad it’s getting the increased traction." - “Boris” The Secret Weapon Radio

"The Shang Hi Los just seem to have it all together. With all their talent and their ability to put quality into every phase of music making they are poised for even more success." - Boston Groupie News

"Man I was waiting for this one to drop! In case you don't know this The Shang Hi Lo's are one of the saviors of REAL Rock & Roll. Led by the incredible tag team of Jen D'Angora and Dan Kopko these 2 know how to write songs that I hope will be timeless. In a weird kinda way they remind me of old "Concrete Blonde" or later period "X". The trade-off vocals are spot on. The first EP "Kick It Like A Wicked Bad Habit" was one of my most listened to CD's of 2021 so I had really high hopes for the full length. This new album is the sound of 2023 Rock & Roll. Everything you could ask for. Mixing the best elements of the 70's/the 80's and even some 90's style Power Pop. These guys are seriously one of my favorite bands and I've been listening to this CD & the first EP for the last 24 hours! Hit up the Rum Bar Records BC and grab this perfect piece of music!" - King Ralph, The Switchblade New Wave

"Aces Eights & Heartbreaks represents everything that's wonderful about rock and roll. It features two excellent singers who sound great both individually and in harmony. It's stacked with stellar tunes that will have you tapping your toes, singing along, and breaking out the air guitar and drums. I wouldn't exactly call it "retro," but it recalls a time when they still played great rock songs on the radio. When these songs are playing, it's an eternal summer. God bless Malibu Lou for unleashing this masterpiece in the middle of January and laying waste to our collective winter blahs. The bar is always open!" - Lord Rutledge, Faster And Louder

"Every once in a while there is a song released that has an immediate impact on me. Takes One To Know One is such a single. The songwriting duo Jen D'Angora and Dan Kopko simply works a miracle together. No matter the quality of their respective bands one and one makes three here. Takes One To Know One rocks, no little and to underscore it all, the coda stresses it with a bang. It all starts out with a 'Mr. Blue Sky' kind of rhythm but takes a tough rocking turn left. Kopko takes the lead vocal but as soon as D'Angora joins in the harmonies, sparks fly. The singing is the icing on the cake, twice over. This song is energy combined with a huge load of fun. In an alternative rock universe this is a number 1 hitsingle and for weeks and weeks on end at that." - WoNo Blog

""Takes One To Know One" will actually be the album's leadoff track, and it's another surefire smash from this Boston-based all-star rock and roll band. With Jen D'Angora and Dan Kopko writing and singing songs together, you can certainly expect a debut album inspired by a myriad of musical styles. So far, we've heard elements of everything from glam rock to new wave to garage rock to punk to indie rock to power pop to classic rock and much more running through the songs of The Shang Hi Los. And yet the band's true signature is the way its two songwriters combine their contrasting styles in perfect chemistry with drummer Chuck Ferreira and bassist Lee Harrington. I'm not quite sure how to describe "Takes One To Know One" other than it's awesome and sounds like The Shang Hi Los. It's fun, catchy, and will totally rock your socks off — exactly the way you want to kick off an album! Joan Hathaway directed a wild and absolutely brilliant music video for the song which you can check out below. Aces Eights & Heartbreaks is going to be a blockbuster. Finally I have a reason to be excited about January!" - Lord Rutledge, Faster And Louder

"I love this record!" - Lee Harrington

"I've been anxiously awaiting this newest output from The Shang Hi Los! True to form, this one continues the great run they have had. They embody everything that I love about music." - The Secret Weapon Radio

Dan Kopko, Jen D'Angora, Chuck Ferreria and Lee Harrington individually have been in some of my favorite bands of all time!! They have joined forces to form The Shang Hi Los, this is the definition of a supergroup. You can hear tinges of all the past great bands they've been in, having said that the Shang's sound is different and still fantastic!! The highly anticipated full length will be out January of 2023 on Rum Bar Records..don't miss this one!!" - Rising With Skybar (WMFO)

Aces Eights & Heartbreaks cranks up a great mix of garage rockers and highly produced numbers. Walking that old Blondie line... a little punk, a little glam, a little disco, a little girl group, all Shang Hi Los.

The Shang Hi Los sparkled into life just outside Boston in late 2019. Swinging and popping into the heart of the pandemic, their debut single "Sway Little Player" proved a seemingly perfect musical antidote, harkening back to a simpler time when Buddy Holly and Brenda Lee spun on bedroom turntables and at high school gym dances everywhere. Featuring the cheeky dual harmony vocals of co-singer-guitarists Jen D'Angora and Dan Kopko atop the thumping backbeat of drummer Chuck Ferreira and bassist Lee Harrington, the song earned the band ample airplay and attention worldwide charting #1 on many indie, college, local, international and radio indie alliance station charts along with a "Coolest Song In The World" nod on Little Steven's Underground Garage. Not a bad start…

No one-trick pony, the band's 2021 EP "Kick It Like A Wicked Bad Habit" (Rum Bar Records) gave listeners a small but sweet sampling of the Shangs' range of influences, from Mott The Hoople 70s glam ("Skipping Records"), to dreamy VU-inspired balladry ("Stay"), to Pixies-style alt pop ("Funeral Home Mint"), and even a rocked up cover of the Chicago prog-rock classic "Saturday In The Park."

Building on that early success, the band set to work on their first full-length "Aces Eights & Heartbreaks" – set for release on Rum Bar January 2023.

"I love this band." - Kelly Ogden
"I really love this band!" - Palmyra Delran
"The Shang Hi-Los have boldly reinvented themselves in remarkable fashion in each step-forward." - Kristen Eck, BumbleBee Radio
"One of my most highly-anticipated albums of 2022 is the forthcoming debut long player from the mighty Shang Hi Los." - Lord Rutledge
"I think the Band is great!" - Michael DesBarres
"Think of The Ronettes hiring the 1978 version of Blondie as their backing band, or maybe the Muffs being produced by Shadow Morton." - Fear And Loathing
"They’ve got tunes baby that’s for sure." - RPM Online
"Groovy quartet featuring Dan Kopko and Jen D’Angora on lead vocals." - Pop Geek Heaven
"I thought Sway Little Player, might be the best bubblegum song ever, but then I met Billy." - Jay Howlett
"The Shang Hi Los bring together the best elements of the last six decades of rock and roll. Particular inspirations are '60s girl groups, '70s glam and classic rock, '80s new wave, and '90s indie/alternative rock. " - Faster And Louder

credits

released January 20, 2023

Jen D’Angora - Vocals & Guitar
Dan Kopko - Vocals, Guitars, Keys
Lee Harrington - Bass
Chuck Ferreira - Drums, Percussion
All Songs D'Angora / Kopko

Mixed and Mastered by Pat Dicenso
Except "Billy" Mixed and Mastered by Danny The K
Drums Recorded by Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios
Bass Recorded by Ed Riemer at The Barn
Jen's Vocals Recorded by Ed Riemer, Ed Valauskas & Danny the K
Chuck's percussion recorded by Joshua Cohen
Featuring Chris Barrett on horns and mellotron, "Billy"
CD Cover Design & Layout - Danny The K
theshanghilos.bandcamp.com

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Rum Bar Records Boston, Massachusetts

"Write this down: Rum Bar Records is turning into one of the absolute best labels for real rock & roll these days."
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