Shady Angels spreads its wings: Local high school band plays final show before breaking off for college

The release of Spokane rock band Shady Angels’ second album marks a strong, efficacious finale for the group’s three-year history of growth – whether it be as musicians or as individuals.

College effectively “breaking up” the band of high schoolers has been an aspect of the foreseeable future for over a year, but even with this knowledge, Shady Angels didn’t have another album on their collective minds until relatively recently.

Earlier this year, the band released two singles, “I am a Superman” in April and “Corvids” in May.

“We didn’t really know if we were trying to make another project,” lead singer Brayden Moore said. “But around the time of finalizing Corvids we were like ‘OK, we should try to push another album out before the band splits up,’ which is evidently what we ended up doing down to the wire.”

“Down to the wire” is about right. The album, titled “Try My Door,” will be released Friday with the band’s last show taking place at the inaugural Boomjam Music Festival on Saturday. Moore leaves Sunday for Western Washington University, which he was initially planned to do Friday, but pushed back to play one last show with the group.

“Try My Door,” although the band’s last record for the immediate future, presents the collective growth and maturity of Shady Angels. Characterized by deep power chords and relentless drums, “Try My Door” is an almost constant ride of intensity built up by moments of near silent recollection and shrill yet full solos.

Experimentation, not that of a different sound but of a different approach, also marks the record. From vocal filters to harsh gang vocals, echoed stacks to cowbell breaks and extended notes of vigor and desperation – the LP is riddled with inventive touches.

Multiple songs exceed the 5-minute mark on the seven-track album, providing a collective, intentional experience – an aspect that brings perhaps the starkest difference between Shady Angels’ first record, “Heirloom.”

“We were just kind of throwing stuff together and seeing what stuck to the wall … we were just trying to put out whatever the hell we could put out,” Moore said of the 2023 record, adding, “Looking back at my 16-year-old self writing those songs, I don’t relate too heavily to a lot of them now.”

Although, some themes, primarily those of grief and dealing with the internal variables of such an intense emotion, have carried on to “Try My Door.” Lyrically, much of the record deals with “darker” themes, from grief to self-loathing to deep personal reflection.

“When I was writing and knew that we were going to make an album, I wanted to make something that I could conceptualize into one bigger art piece,” Moore said. “We really wanted to have one higher piece instead of just song after song after song.”

The record’s final title track, a near 8-minute crescendo, emphasizes the overall purpose of the album. Acting as some relief from the intentional gloom and heavier sounds, the song explores light melodies and metaphors of affectionate sincerity before exploding into one last instrumental.

“It’s the willingness to be open to each other and to yourself, to ‘try each other’s doors,’ and to experience all that you can with somebody,” Moore said on the meaning of “Try My Door,” as not only a track but as one of the album’s base ideas.

Now, with a more meaningful collection added to Shady Angels’ body of work, the only thing left to do is play one final show – which was two weeks to the day at the time of this interview.

“It’s probably going to be a heavy set, we’re probably going to be a bit emotional, but we’re going to end with some songs that mean good things to us and hopefully, to others,” Moore said. “I’m just trying to enjoy what we have left and look back on what mark we’ve left behind.”

From their formation as a group titled “Slow, Children At Play” into the years of playing venue after venue, show after show to a devout local fanbase, Shady Angels has accomplished the feat of being a Spokane band not only beloved by the scene but one that has explored the art of rock with vulnerability and experimentation.

“We would just like to thank everybody who’s supported us for letting us have a slice of our dreams, especially being this young,” Moore said. “We’re very lucky and we’re very proud.”