Steve Shiffman and the Land of No

Steve Shiffman’s voice has a natural appeal that really ties the band’s sound together. It is confident without being arrogant, and it sounds introspective without swimming in the murky waters of self-pity. The man - together with the musicians in Steve Shiffman & the Land of No - has released a new video for their song “Clown’s Lament” (see it here), a mellow, hopeful tune from their new album "Mon Dieu," which features a surprising number of songs, and a style somewhat reminiscent of the creative garage-psych of The Flaming Lips from the "Telephatic Surgery" years. Though it does not resemble the aesthetic of the Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979”, the single (streaming below) has the same subtle, addictive coolness to it. See the band live at The Gutter in Greenpoint on September 12. - Jack McGovern - The Deli

After several virtual spins of Steve Shiffman & The Land of No 's latest EP "Nemegt Uul," I began to look at the three song work as a continuous story. It was only after I formed this theory that I discovered that "Nemegt Uul" is the second in a series of 3 EPs (each to be released every 3 months) which will be later compiled into a full length album. So, albeit shaky, my postulation held a little water. The three songs are tied together by recurring themes of lost and found love, dream vs. reality, communication failure, and dressed by the band's intense guitar sound, rooted in the indie sound of the 90s, and Mr Shiffman's vocals, which are at times reminiscent of an angrier Brendan Benson. Don't miss the EP release party at Cake Shop on November 4. - Allison Levin - The Deli

Based in New York via Toronto, singer-songwriter Steve Shiffman began his career years ago with the Canadian band, 4-Star Movie. He then went on to record a 5-track solo EP “Tambourino” before hooking up with The Figgs drummer Pete Hayes. The duo enlisted the help of Kent Heine and Alec Ferrell of Holy Ghost and guitarist Dave Hollinghurst. The five-piece now known as Steve Shiffman & The Land of No plan to release their self-titled debut on August 18th via Tiny Beast Records. The band recorded the album at The Seaside Lounge in Brooklyn where Anitibalas, The National and Neko Case among others, have also recorded. For fans of Pavement, Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth. - Rollo & Grady

Steve Shiffman has been on the scene for some time now. Although he started out in Toronto, he now calls himself a New Yorker. Together with his slowly-growing band, The Land of No, Shiffman has continued to move forward, playing strings of shows and putting out hefty-sounding recordings. The band (made up of Shifmann himself on guitar and vocals) includes guitarists Dave Hollinghurst and Alec Ferrell, Kent Heine on bass, and Aaron Kant – who joined last summer – on drums.

The Land of No sound is one that transitions easily from crunchy garage rock to strummy songwriter fare, all the while maintaining sincerity in the story telling. They can certainly hold their own among other well-known bands like Wilco and Big Star, combining rock-band-earnestness with roots-country soul, but they still feel like a local favorite, which is a pretty nice space to occupy.


Now, Steve Shiffman & The Land Of No are three quarters of the way through their latest endeavor, which they embarked upon in May of 2011. The mission was to release four new EPs throughout the year, and ultimately, combine all four to form one big super record (kind of like a Voltron of Shiffman songs).

Each of the completed EPs has debuted with a live show at Cake Shop. Death & Love was followed a few months later by Nemegt Uul, and now they’ll take the stage at Cake Shop to unveil Everlasting Sun, their third installment in the series. Much like recent iPad announcements, you might just as soon get this in your hot little hands as instantly begin wondering when the next one will be coming out.

Saturday, March 10 // 8pm // $8 // 152 Ludlow St. - The Lo-Down

Steve Shiffman And The Land Of No- Self Titled (Tiny Beast Rec)

Based in New York by way of Canada, Shiffman quickly got involved with the flourishing music scene in NY, teaming up with musicians from The Figgs and Holy Ghost. After a critically acclaimed self released EP and extensive touring, a solid fan base emerged and this, their debut full length, is slated to drop from the new Tiny Beast Record label in late August.

With a handful of musicians coming from different backgrounds, Shiffman takes his rocknroll with crunchy and distorted guitars and adds all sorts of dynamic styles to it. The songs range from dirty rockers with a bluesy side to softer, folky strumming. Shiffman and company weave excellent musicianship around the songs as each one is memorable in its own right- whether it's a brash rocker or gentle introspection.

Like any great record you can hear traces of all the legends within (in this case The Velvet Underground, Nick Cave, The Replacements, Sonic Youth and Wilco to name a few), but ultimately the disc maintains its own identity as Shiffman has a songwriting style few could emulate.

Apparently Shiffman does one of the best live shows in the business; I don't doubt that- these songs seems like they were meant to be experienced live.

Hear it: http://www.myspace.com/steveshiffman

Buy it: http://tinybeastrecords.com/
- GoTo11.com

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Disc Review

Steve Shiffman & The Land Of No
(Tiny Beast)
By Benjamin Boles

Toronto music fans may remember Steve Shiffman from his days with local trio 4-Star Movie. Since then, he’s relocated to New York City and put together Steve Shiffman & the Land of No with members from the Holy Ghost and the Figgs, and has been slowly building buzz.

On first listen, the disc comes across as a rough and ragged alt-country workout, and sits comfortably alongside the best of the genre. On closer examination, however, you soon pick up on the Velvet Underground references as well as a real knack for Big Star-influenced power pop.

The back-to-basics recording style captures some amazingly gritty guitar tones, and the lack of unnecessary embellishments lets the strength of the songwriting shine through. Well worth checking out if you like some twang with your garage rock.

Top track: Ready For You Now - Now Magazine

Steve Shiffman – “Tabourino” EP
Steve Shiffman hails from Toronto but now lives & operates in NYC. Formerly of Cananda’s ‘scariest rock band’, 4-Star Movie, Steve now plies his trade backed by his one-man (Pete Hayes) band, Fat Of The Land.

“Tabourino” is Steve Shiffman’s 1st solo offering (self recorded & produced) - a 5-track affair that slips neatly (somewhere) between Steve Albini & Will Oldham in the genre pool. Resolutely ‘no-fi’ - & all the more admirable because of it - this EP is a genuine wishing well of raw talent.

“Big Fat Moon” recalls a slo-mo Pavement with a wide screen vision – “Dry” era PJ Harvey (a few octaves lower, obviously) also holds some significance.

“Steve-o’s Alphabet Of Woe” is the sound of a narcoleptic struggling to deliver his personal A-Z of relevance – drizzled in a vaguely alt.co sauce made from haunting melody, sublime backing vocals & off kilter nuance.

“Death In The News Group” is vocally close to Malkmus again - but somehow more soulful. A beautiful slice of prime underground art rock at it’s most eclectic – with electric guitars!

“Unfortunately For Her” hangs in the air like incense – evocative & heart warming – lyrically adept & structurally succinct – the sound of a quality composer in total control of his faculties.

“Spanish Fly”, a short instrumental interlude, shuts the disc down at roughly 17 minutes duration. As an exercise in self-promotion, “Tabourino” is an excellent calling card. Highly recommended.

Contact: steveshiffman@hotmail.com

Link – www.steveshiffman.com

Jean Encoule – tMx 12 – 11/03 - Trakmarx.com (uk)

http://jadedscenesternyc.blogspot.com/2008/09/live-steve-shiffman-and-land-of-no-cake.html


My friend Pete plays in America's Finest Rock Band, The Figgs. For a while now he's been playing with one Mr. Steve Shiffman, a transplanted Canadian whom I'm kind of disappointed has ties to the nightmare that is Sidewalk and it's Anti-Folk scene that is attached like mold to it's back room. By and large, it's a great venue if you want to see fourteen 'friends bands' and or a rogues gallery of people far too untalented to actually garner people to play 'with'. I'll give minor props to Beck and Paleface, but whatever smoldering ember of relevancy that movement has fostered has long gone out.

So Pete's been playing with Steve for a while now. Originally they were a two-piece comprised of guitar and drums. You may remember I hate the deconstructionist rock band, but sometime over the last couple years, the duo has morphed into a three-headed guitar monster with a real rhythm section. They were far from bad before, but now that Steve and The Land Of No are a five-piece, a lot of bands should be watching their ass. It doesn't hurt that the three newer guys are Dave Hollinghurst of the late Chapel Hill powerhouse Small and Alec Ferrell and Kent Heine of The Holy Ghost, two of the better bands of the last ten years. Hollinghurst was the ringer for me, as I loved Small a ton, but as a five-some Shiffman and company are pretty damn fearsome.

It showed at Cake Shop. It's far from my favorite room in town, and the relative timing of the shows can be more a than a bit tiresome but it was a crappy night and they rock, so off I went. I've enjoyed them before, but it had been a while since I'd seen them. If anything, they've gotten tighter in the last couple months. The three guitars option can be an ill-advised one, but they have it down pretty well. Two solidbodies, one hollowbody, Dave playing a lot of slide, it all makes for a pretty noise. Add Shiffman's hooky songs and you've got one hell of a good time. Shiffman has a solo EP Tamborino out and it appears that there is a full-length looming ominously in our future. I, for one, can't wait. Check out the SS & LON webpage here and check out some great MP3s at their MySpace here.

R - Jaded Scenester NYC