Album Review: The Taskers - No Shit - Just Shoes

Stoke of Genius:

By Emilia Rowley

Released: Independent, March 28, 2013


The Taskers, a brother-sister combination, are a breezy rock duet hailing right out of the Midlands.

Vocals are by both members, whilst Sister Tasker drums and Brother Tasker strums.

Recently released full album, No Shit - Just Shoes, is now available for your listening pleasure, and with a love for all things dinosaur, The Taskers are a band after my own heart.

Straight in with 'Litas', you get surf riffs and hi-hat beats that grab your attention; catchy oohs and aahs and a delightfully harmonic chorus. 

From surf to funk, 'Kaunas' takes a darker turn but remains upbeat and exciting. 

Imagine listening to this while wearing a tie-dye t-shirt and just downright grooving out.

A personal favourite is 'Ratsong', which after the slightly gentle introduction of the first two tracks, is something else altogether.

Lead in with easy lyrics, The Taskers then hit you full force with ferocious growls and massive riffs. 

The Taskers - No Shit, Just Shoes

For a duo, Jack ‘Jack B.T’ Tasker and Sophie ‘S.B.T’ Tasker can make a helluva noise that is bound to be even better live. 

Track five 'Early Light' calms everyone back down. It’s slow going, smooth, and a little sleazy, and has subtle hints of synth and spills of obsession. 

I’m missing SBT’s voice already. Nevertheless, Jack sings 'Matthew' beautifully, with gentle verses until the emotionally fuelled chorus is another jump-start within this album’s bag of tricks.

Another guy, another name: track 'Leroy' says, or rather sings, that we’re going surfing. 

This line will resonate the most.

Revealing more rawness, track seven '26 11 12' is Frank Turner-esque with emotion and simplistic splendour.

Powering through to Haymarket, there is an sense of playing with words; some lines make you want to sing out “whore!” just so the lyrics rhyme when they actually don’t. The Taskers are subconsciously teasing you already. 

Met The Eyes flirts back to the heavier rock elements; those loud powerful moments combined with gently toned lyrics, super-catchy choruses, and fast-and-easy riffs. 

Wait for the end and turn it up.

Winding down for track ten, SBT showcases her vocal talents with 'No Excuses Now' - this track may give the resonating 'Leroy' a run for its money in terms of memorable lyrics.

Christopher James is the stranger in question (unless you check back to The Taskers’ December 2012 album Not To Be Played Or Tested and spot track number one…but that’s something completely different) and he is accompanied only by guitar, its string rhythm, and of course, Sophie’s heart-breaking singing. 

For the penultimate song, we are treated to another drum-less track, but you would certainly not notice.

'The Dead' finally brings Jack and Sophie together vocally; turn-taking and throwing in electronic guitar melodies, faraway echoing lyrics and prolonged high tones which add not only depth but such intense sentiment that this is a perfect ending to an album that has something for everybody. 

If you do hold on for '(no dot)', as it has 3.22 minutes of silence for you to think about the previous 11 tracks, you will be treated to an outrageous mix of sounds as well as further mentions of Christopher James. 

If you’re wondering what other talents The Taskers will come up with next, the wait is over. 

The trailer for Taskersaurus, their very own documentary (!), is an absolute sight to behold; expect a rock and roll journey and, of course, dinosaurs.