There’s a peculiar duality in “Smoke & Mirrors”, the latest offering from Shell Games, that feels sort of like standing in front of a fogged-up mirror—you see yourself, but you don’t quite recognize the edges. Carrie Martinelli, with her synthed-out alchemy and Nick Post’s spiral-shaped production, manages to make you face your own reflection even when you didn’t ask for it. But don’t panic. That funhouse effect just adds charm to the existential headache this album paints so vividly.
The album explores a diverse range of emotions and experiences, with standout tracks like “Body Snatchers” where the heart of ”Smoke & Mirrors” pulses most erratically. It’s not just a song about regret—it’s a confessional we weren’t meant to overhear, spilling over with yearning for redemption wrapped in something that sounds like it could be played at 2 a.m. after breaking into an abandoned arcade. The usual suspects—self-doubt, guilt, and the monotonous loop of past mistakes—are all there, haunting the track, but the beat feels like it’s dancing on the threshold of a funeral and an electronic uprising. Odd juxtaposition, but it works.
And “Idle Hands,” the kind of lonely, post-breakup melancholy that smells like wet cement after a sudden summer storm. You can almost feel the weight of memory, the reminder that heartbreak doesn’t tiptoe out of the room, but lingers like leftover vinyl scratches on an old record. In fact, by the time the chorus swells, you start accepting that sometimes sadness is the most reliable partner—you can slow dance with it if you’re brave enough.
It’s an album of contradictions—synths that sing rather than hum, lyrics that cut like glass but feel warm to the touch. Shell Games has crafted an experience that doesn’t just ask, but dares you to feel both everything and nothing simultaneously. And really, isn’t that the essence of being trapped in a mirror maze?
“Smoke & Mirrors” feels less like storytelling and more like a private conversation you accidentally walked into, only to find yourself staying to listen.
Follow Shell Games on Website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
