Shallow Spirit - Exit Theater

​Shallow Spirit 

Exit Theater
self-released; 2016

3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Shallow Spirit is the solo project of Zack Parrinella. The Colorado native released Exit Theater which is a full-length album that merges different styles like folk, rock and more. When it came to the music I was actually reminded on occasion of Tom Waits. The Russian circus vibe is going on within a couple of these songs. 

The album is a complete DIY effort. There are a good amount of improvements that could happen in the engineering department to improve these songs but it is certainly listenable where you can appreciate the songs. 

I liked the songs and I liked his voice. He does however have some issues staying in key. He opens with “Exit Entry” which is a collage of banjo, white noise and his vocals. It’s an example of where he has trouble staying anywhere close to being in key. He has much better luck singing words like he does on “Intruder.” The songs are loose and fun. He sounds like he barely gets out the words when he sings at times. The song sounds messy yet that's some of its charm.

One of the highlights was “Detachment.” He again sounds like he's in some kind of drunken haze when he is singing. The only word I can use to describe the second half of the song is zany.

A common issue I see with DIY musicians who are left to their own devices is that the albums have long run times. This case isn’t egregious but I felt ten songs would have worked better.

This album contains twelve songs with one going to the ten-minute mark and others well above  five. Brevity is usually a good thing when an artist doesn't have a huge audience especially when the length is much longer than many well known artists. 

Overall, there are some really good things going on with the artist. I like his style and the banjo sounds great. If he can do a little tweaking in other areas he should be in a very good place.

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