Local Reviews: The Platte

The Platte
Grus

Hankie Frankie Music
Street: 11.16.09
The Platte = Calico + The Antlers + Bon Iver

After moving to Salt Lake in 2003, Andrew Shaw kept himself busy creating various musical outlets for local ears to take in: Chanticleer the Clever Cowboy, Calico, The Adonis, and Bluebird Radio. His latest moniker, The Platte, shares the name of the river that runs through his home state of Nebraska. The songs on Grus have been carefully crafted with quiet emotive lyrics, light percussion and a soft layer of haze. The delicate “Plaster Caster” greets you with minimal guitars and the echo of a Wurlitzer. Trumpets call for your attention on “Ten Years Older,” and “The Town Where You Was Born” sends you marching in search of someone. The strongest track is “Suture & Sing,” Shaw’s vocals flow slowly with simple words that mightily resonate, “My face just isn’t the same. I think the mirror forgot my name. It laughs and it cries, but it’s just a disguise.” Grus is truly a work of rare beauty, right down to the design of the packaging.