Known as one of the better indie rock bands in town, Oldboy plays somber folk-inspired music that can often quiet a noisy room. Now, the band’s Shawn Brewster and Shelby Lynn Sangdahl have started up a band they’ve christened Shawn & Shelby. The group celebrates the release of its debut EP, Sleeping in a Spell, with a show that takes place at 9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30, at the Happy Dog at Euclid Tavern. Singer-songwriter Ashley Brooke Toussant and Leah Lou and the Two Left Shoes join the bill.
“I wanted to write a song that didn’t fit the band,” says Brewster. “I started writing the songs about three months ago. One kind of fit with the band but it just didn’t sound right even though we shoehorned it in there. I started talking to Shawn [Sangdahl] and then three more songs popped right out.” Sangdahl’s cello has a prominent role in songs such as the somber “Hold Onto Me” and “Light.” Local producer Jim Stewart recorded the album at both Lava Room and his personal studio. “I went with Jim because I didn’t want that I-made-that-with-my-laptop-in-my-bedroom sound, which is easy to talk yourself into," says Brewster. "He’s great and makes everything sound just a little better.”
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