***SHORES was never intended to be a “band.” It had been a sound/style that had been obsessed over since the band members’ high school days. Formed by drummer JOHN MASSEL and guitarist/vocalist BRIAN PRZYBYLSKI somewhere in mid-2008, practicing in rogue basements around the Grand Rapids area and forming in the ashes of band members’ prior bands NORTH LINCOLN, WORMBURNER and THE HARTFORD WHALERS. Shores immediately embarked on their first album Coup de Grace tracked in just 16 hours over two days that fall. After a fairly inactive 2009, the band completed their critically acclaimed 2010 release To Volstead, adding members SEAN STEARNS (guitars) and BILLY BARTHOLOMEW (bass) to join the fold “for a few shows.” Bartholomew’s pop sensibility and love of all things “space rock” , and Stearns’ penchant for noise and sad bastard balladry were perfect complements, even almost missing pieces, to what Massel and Przybylski had already started, and led to an album described as reminiscent of slowcore champions Codeine, Red House Painters, Low, Slowdive, June of 44 and others. Leavening is a perfect reflection of Shores’ spectrum of influences, exploring loudness, playing with effects and noise, and raising the bar the band had previously set for themselves.