Sheenjek

Drawing influence from outfits including Drive Like Jehu and the Jesus Lizard, the Portland, Oregon quartet Sheenjek fuses unfiltered ferocity with elaborate, riff-driven compositions. Every facet of that force and range surfaced across the group’s first long-player, the 2020 release Unclever.

The four-piece assembled in early 2018, with Spencer Davis and Scott Flaster handling guitars, Joe Geist behind the drums, and Dave Becker covering bass and vocals. They honed an approach centered on sheer volume and relentless weight, gigging throughout Portland and delivering their opening material on the limited 7-inch Volume 1 before the calendar turned on their debut year. July 2020 brought the premiere of “Monkey Brains” together with word of the forthcoming debut album Unclever, which surfaced the next month via Seventh Rule.