The Shifters

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, the Shifters are an amiable lo-fi pop combo who write simple but tuneful melodies, perform them with spare arrangements that leave plenty of space for guitars and keyboards, and match them with lyrics full of dry humor. Suggesting a cross between the Fall and the Clean, the group came together through a series of loose jam sessions at the home of singer and guitarist Miles Jansen, and a handful of recordings on various D.I.Y. labels won them a following at home and abroad, leading to the release of their debut album in 2018. The Shifters were formed in the Carlton suburb of Melbourne when Miles Jansen, a local music fan who played guitar and sang, began inviting friends to his home to make music in 2013. The jam sessions at Jansen's house became a regular occurrence, and in time the participants cohered into a band, with Jansen joined by Violetta Del Conte on guitar and vocals, Tristan Davies on bass, and Ryan Coffey on drums. This edition of the group made its recorded debut in October 2015 with the release of a cassette on the Comfort 35 label, initially issued in a limited edition of 35 copies. Somehow a copy of the tape made its way to the American independent label It Takes Two, and ITT extended an invitation to the Shifters to release a single. The band responded with the 2016 "Creggan Shops" b/w "Captain Hindsight" 7", the A side being a dour bit of satire about a well-known Irish Republican Army stronghold. Another 7" was issued by the British label Market Square in July 2017, featuring the songs "A Believer" and "Contrast of Form." As the Shifters' profile rose both in Australia and in the international independent music community, they struck a deal with the well-respected American label Trouble in Mind, which released the group's first full-length album, Have a Cunning Plan, in September 2018. Produced by Al Montfort, Have a Cunning Plan featured a new lineup of the Shifters, with Miles Jansen, Tristan Davies, and Ryan Coffey joined by Louise Russell on keyboards and vocals and Chris Gray on guitar and bass. ~ Mark Deming