One of the more underrated Revelation Records acts to speak of is Bridgewater Township, New Jersey’s power trio Shades Apart. They formed in the late ’80s, released two LPs before being picked up by RR, signed with Universal Records for two more, and split in 2003, only to reform and put out a non-major label LP just a mere seventeen years later via indie Hellminded Records. Whether you know them from their “Tainted Love” cover, track eight on the original “American Pie” soundtrack, or from just being the cool guy in high school who mail-ordered rare/hard-to-find compact discs, we can all agree that the band’s legacy needs more light shined its way, and we’re happy to do our part with our subjective album ranking that is perfect in every which way, and stranger by the day. Bare (eye)witness, and please watch us save it, whatever it is:
7. Self-Titled (1988)
Every band has to start somewhere, and Shades Apart’s lone-1980s self-titled LP proves just that. You punks will all claim to love Orange County, California’s Uniform Choice, but we know the truth, and that you only know that one U.C. “Straight and Aware” longsleeve. Anyway, the two Pats of Uniform Choice, P. Dubar and P. Longrie, signed the band to their personal Wishingwell Records label, and put out SA’s debut just after the punk AF George Bush, Junior’s CIA poppa dog was elected Commander-in-chief. Though imperfect like most first records, we believe that the band’s self-titled studio album deserves your time, especially if you’re a hardcore Shades Apart fan and want to hear them literally come of age in sonic form.
Play it again: “Shadow of a Cross”
Skip it: Just over ⅓ of it
6. Sonic Boom (2001)
Shades Apart’s second/final major label effort, which led to the band going into hibernation for almost twenty years, (we’ll get to that in a bit) was a misfire by definition that landed in a, you guessed it, sonic boom. Perhaps the band would have churned several more LPs by now, instead of just one, if “Sonic Boom” was morphed into a four or five-song no-filler EP, but, alas, the band got shot down by themselves. Still, it would have been quite tough for any band to release a follow-up album to “Eyewitness,” so we can understandably cut the band some slack.
Play it again: “Behind The Wheel,” even though the one from “Seeing Things” is more endearing
Skip it: ⅓ of it
5. Neon (1993)
Shortly after the band released their “Dude Danger” EP in 1992, the band put out their second LP “Neon” via St. Paul, Minnesota indie label Skene! Records. This album is likely the good luck charm and sole reason that Revelation Records, then home to post-hardcore legends Farside, Into Another, Iceburn, and Kelly Pickler, signed SA, “Neon” is the band’s first consistent effort front to back, and at just nine blistering tracks, it bashes you in the skull with melodic sensibilities that also work as aggressive lullabies until its finish at just over a half an hour. We’re forever calling for Skene! to upload this LP to DSPs so we can listen to it on a platform not called YouTube.
Play it again: “Calling”
Skip it: ¼ of it
4. Eternal Echo (2020)
The COVID-19 pandemic was strange for all of us, but one of the better surprises occurred in the summer of 2020 when Shades Apart released their (lucky) seventh full-length “Eternal Echo,” and it ended up becoming their finest LP from this century. Happily, it’s mostly light not in terms of subject, but in regards to brightness and overall quality here! Lots of recording/songwriting technology changed from 2001 to the year that “Eternal Echo” came out, and the band took advantage of such for this album’s creation in the best way. Perhaps if it was released as album #6, things would have been different, but, as an interesting, at least to us, posit, maybe the failure of “Sonic Boom” inspired the victory of this effort.
Play it again: “95”
Skip it: Just under ¼ of it
3. Save It (1995)
Likely your favorite release here, unless we’re wrong, but we know that we aren’t, Shades Apart’s debut LP for Revelation Records, “Save It,” is a solid record front to back with the band’s finest original compositions at that time, but it is most known for its “Tainted Love” cover, which is so good it is our “play it again” track below… By the way, that is NOT a bad thing! Fun fact: Synthpop duo Soft Cell’s “classic” non-secret life version is also a cover song, so this version is a cover of a Gloria Jones cover. There is nothing new under the sun. Anyway, reverential doo-wop pioneers Descendents members Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton produced this raw yet polished effort to a “T,” and set the band up for the next successful six years or so.
Play it again: “Tainted Love”
Skip it: “Weight Of Years”
2. Seeing Things (1997)
First of all, we hope that DSPs eventually fix the typo in the second word to this album title, as not only is “Seeing Thing” not grammatically correct, it is wrong and the person who uploaded it should be chastised forever and ever. By far Shades Apart’s best non-major label LP, “Seeing Things” is also one of the better/more underrated melodic punk rock albums of the ’90s. Why doesn’t it get its justifiable flowers? Beats us, but we will get over it, turn it back around, and provide a fearless bravado with our fist(s). Also, this LP contains little filler, but we legally had to list one song in the “skip it” section, so we did below. While this studio album is the silver medalist, the divide between number one and two would be smaller if said track was eliminated and the record was just ten tracks.
Play it again: “Second Chance,” even though the one from “Eyewitness” is slightly better
Skip it: “Turn It Back Around”
1. Eyewitness (1999)
Speaking of underrated, Shades Apart’s fifth full-length studio album and major label debut for Universal Records is one of the more overlooked rock albums of the ’90s, and try to disagree once you listen for the first time or revisit for the 1999th. There are no “skip it” tracks here at all. In addition, not every band can make the shift from melodic punk rock to beyond melodic pop rock so effortlessly but not every band is SA… What a major label debut! We will forever wish that the band rose to major headliner status, but sadly that’s not how the underground cookie with stevia and salt crumbled. Still, the band had a minor radio hit with track four, “Valentine,” and we can’t scoff at that. We’ll see ourselves out and make our escape at the end of “Casablanca”.
Play it again: “Edge Of The Century” – “Speed Of Light”
Skip it: “Corner Of The Decade” – “Rise Of Sound”