I Come To Shanghai

As concepts for albums go, the one created by Oakland, CA's I Come To Shanghai is interesting. Their ongoing Eternal Life series attempts to create albums that are short enough to fit on one single side of vinyl, but still feel like a proper record, with the appropriate number of twists and turns. Considering that the first two volumes combined clock in at a mere 44 minutes, that's a great deal of material to squeeze into a short amount of time. Yet I Come To Shanghai succeed, at least for the most part. The issue is that by succeeding, they have to demonstrate a severe case of musical ADD ― there are electronic instrumentals, psychedelic guitars and AM radio pop gems all mixed together. There isn't much rhyme or reason to the track sequence, which adds to the frustration. Volume 2 is more satisfying, with a better development of ideas, suggesting that things are only going to improve as the series continues. As it is, this is a decent start.