Music
Press
One of the more intriguing North Texas CDs to come out recently is from a Dallas outfit called The Shock of Pleasure. If you miss the '90s and all those soulful females backed by a team of quiet, arty guys -- Portishead, Olive, Morcheeba, Sneaker Pimps, etc. -- then The Shock of Pleasure might be what you're searching for. They have a CD available through iTunes. - Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
The Shock of Pleasure makes music ideal for gliding through the dark of night in a sleek limousine. Kelley Christian, with her drop-dead good looks, anchors this seductive, electronica-inclined quartet with her forceful yet feather-light voice; It's About Time, the Dallas-based group's debut full-length -- eight original tracks augmented by an equal number of inventive remixes -- is addictive, saturated with atmosphere. The 3-year-old band blends elements of trip-hop and spacey, austere pop (This Is a Test and Tript are essential), evoking such sonic cult faves as Hooverphonic, Thievery Corporation or Portishead. Moody and mesmerizing, it's a necessary component of your next night out on the town.
- Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
The atmospheric down-tempo pop/rock of Dallas band Shock of Pleasure is consistently spellbinding. Founded by guitarist/keyboardist Robert Romano of Stranger Than Fiction, this group rides on the extraordinary, gently penetrating vocals of Kelley Christian. Their Web site includes a video of the mesmerizing song "This Is a Test." - Palo Alto Daily News
For one week in early October, this CD was Good Records' biggest seller; that should supply come context regarding how large of a local following that the Shock of Pleasure enjoys. Fronted by striking blonde singer Kelley Christian (who looks like she walked straight out of the bar scene at Sambuca Addison) and former Stranger Than Fiction brainchild Robert Romano, the outfit's eerie and ionospheric new-age pop has been a prominent fixture on KDGE-FM (102.1)'s local music programming...the rhythm section's grooves dig deep and unique aural holes, and Josh Curry's fuzz-ball bass tone on the flute-flickered Motown future-funk track "Tript" makes you want to boogie in a full rabbit suit (damn the sweat!)... - Dallas GUIDELIVE.COM
After a couple listens I had to do a double take. The new release reminds me of many things I miss from the early 90’s. Group like Portishead, Massive Attack all were images that flashed before me. The group might have subtle similarities, but it also creates a unique expression all by itself. Having been formed in 2004, it’s the new lineup with a mix of downtempo and trip-hop that has really matured in style. 4 Members (Kelley Christian on vocals, Robert Romano: Guitar and Keyboards, Brent Irish: Drums, Percussion, Josh Curry: Bass) make up the reformed band with some really fresh ideas. “False Positive” and “This is a Test” are the tracks that really made me feel warm. There are remixes included of a couple songs, but the album cuts are still the strongest versions. Overall this is a late night CD meant for personal exploration. - CRATER-TECH MAGAZINE
The Obama vs. Hillary, hope vs. experience, faculty lounge vs. lunch counter tussle found a night-life representation Friday night at The Mansion bar. The Mansion, generally known as an assisted drinking facility for plutocrats, is trying to pull in a younger crowd some nights with a revamped music program. Rather than the usual run of standard-covering pianists and smooth jazz combos, Friday's music was local chill-lounge favorites Shock of Pleasure. It was a shock, if not a pleasure, for some Mansion regulars weighed down with years and municipal bonds. On the other hand ... yeehah!
The bar was definitely vibing, even vibrating, once Kelley Christian stepped to the microphone. It was a Fabulous Baker Boys moment for any male who remembered 1989. Tall, thin, blond, devastating. And can sing, too, in that waif-ful, wraith-ful way that chill lounge vocalists do.
There's something peculiar about a cover band, using actual instruments (for the most part), reproducing sample-heavy DJ outfits such as Thievery Corporation and Tosca. But then there was Ms. Christian in an L.B.D. to silence all debates. Shock of Pleasure's best moments, however, were covers of other repertory -- a Qualuded "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley and a sludgy slice of the '60s ("Spooky" ('Life sure is crazy with a spooky little girl like you") ) - Dallas Morning News
Shock of Pleasure has to be one of the most aptly named groups in all of music. When their CD, it’s about time, was first passed my way, highly recommended by a trusted source, I had no idea what I was in store for. Within minutes my mind was, quite literally, completely at ease. I had been transported into the group’s downtempo / electro-lounge world and was, for the first time in a long time, relaxed. Lead singer Kelley Christian’s voice is both incredibly soothing and sensual and band members Robert Romano, Brent Irish and Josh Curry are phenomenal at creating a mood. I was hooked and wanted to know more about this group from Dallas, TX... - Billboard.com
Discography
2008 "It's About Time" EMG/UNIVERSAL/FONTANA
*multiple singles now in rotation across the USA and Canada. Also on Several Satellite Radio Stations and Last.fm in London
Photos
Bio
Call it fate, call it coincidence or simply call it luck, but something powerful occurred over the course of three short months in 2004 when veteran musician and songwriter Robert Romano met singer Kelley Christian and producer David Castell. Romano, formerly of Stranger Than Fiction, was on the verge of quitting the music industry altogether after 15 years when he was introduced to Christian, a classically-trained singer and well-known model, who seemed like the perfect person to front the new project he’d formed with long-time collaborator Brent Irish. An encounter with Castell, acclaimed for his work with Blue October and Burden Brothers, cemented his desire to leap back into the musical fray.
Taking cues from intelligent, down-tempo electronic acts like Thievery Corporation and Portishead, Romano set to penning the compelling, layered tracks that now form Shock of Pleasure’s debut album It’s About Time. “We were simply trying to create something that we would listen to,” Romano explains. “I knew this was the direction to go in, it just felt right. We knew it had to stand alone in the super-saturated music world, something clean, even optimistic. We wanted the record to be very electronic, even slick – without losing the spirit of the original compositions.”
Once the aim was clear and Josh Curry was added on bass at the end of 2005, the group went into Castell’s Dallas studio where the producer fit in their recording sessions between his other acts over the course of nearly two years. In the studio, the compositions of the songs, which Romano initially conceives with just a guitar and the mindset of a studied architect who arranges sound in a similar manner one would arrange space, were refined, melding delicately grooving beats, sparse melodies and Christian’s ethereal vocals. Songs like “This Is a Test,” the disc’s first single when it was initially self-released in September of 2007, and “Cruel and Unusual” dance quietly through dynamic, undeniably lovely sonic landscapes that reveal Romano’s role as a “student of music” and his practiced skill of the craft.
The album, which was re-released nationally with two additional tracks (chilled-out covers of the Carpenters hit “Superstar” and the Dennis Yost classic “Spooky”) on September 16th of 2008, has received nothing but praise, accruing the band an intimidating list of accomplishments that include the No. 12 spot on the CMJ music charts in February 2008, appearances on nationally syndicated radio shows like The Lex and Terry Show, television licensing on the ABC Family Channel show Wildfire, dance remixes of the songs in clubs across the country, and regular rotation on dozens of radio stations.
But the real Shock of Pleasure is the music: strikingly original and fresh. “Our only objective is making music that’s unique and inspired,” Romano says. “Everyone knows music transcends words and images, we just think it’s cool to be a part of the emotional magic that happens.”
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