Change Giver - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Change Giver received mixed to positive reviews upon release, with some critics finding it to be a respectable debut album for a young, upcoming band, but that it mainly served as an indication that the group were capable of bettering it in future releases. Angela Lewis, writing for The Independent in October 1994, described the group as "roguishly disarming youth popsters" who, despite having "a bravado whiff of ridiculous self assurance that's straight out of Blur's 1992 patent", had something worthwhile to offer with the release of their debut album. She went on to note the band's Britishness, and found similarities with The Smiths in their music: "At the heart of Shed Seven's appeal is their memorable way with a glucose-centred pop tune (many sweat at it but few can actually pull it off) in songs like 'Mark' and 'Dolphin'. Plus, there's the ghost of The Smiths in the Sheddoes chiming chords, putting in a friendly, but not too overwhelming, appearance." Ian Gittins of Melody Maker also noted a similarity with The Smiths, via a "tenuous link" found in the lyrics written by Shed Seven's frontman, Rick Witter, who he thought had "an ear for Morrissey-esque homely homilies". He described the album as "spasmodically exciting and uplifting", but found it to be too orthodox a record overall to be able to "term it a 'classic'". He also drew comparisons with both Radiohead and Oasis, and highlighted "Dirty Soul" and "Long Time Dead" as the album's standout tracks: "Viewed as a chipper, cocky collection of brassy northern pop songs, Change Giver scores a resounding... seven out of 10. 'Dirty Soul', the opener, is the kind of choppy, fuzzy rollercoaster ride Shed Seven are good at and 'Long Time Dead' is a supremely catchy angst fest à la 'Creep'".

Q magazine's Martin Aston noted that Shed Seven had "enjoyed an arresting development to date", when reviewing Change Giver in October 1994. He remarked on the group's knack of "covering different bases" throughout the record, and surmised that they "neatly mirror the original mod tendency to expand in the direction of acid rock". Singling out "Dolphin" as one of the album's highlights, he labelled the song "a memorably chunky slice of Northern pop scruff", and went on to claim that "Speakeasy" was "even better". The latter track was also praised by Select magazine's Roy Wilkinson, who stated that "the inclusion of a song as poutingly self-confident as 'Speakeasy' shows that Shed Seven can cut the mustard". He chose the deftness of "Ocean Pie" and the "I Am the Resurrection"-esque "On an Island with You" as other notable tracks, but found most of the songs on the record to have more in common with the sound of "Dolphin"—a track which he described as a "clanking half-tune". Deeming the album's shortcomings to be "no felony" when considering the band's youthful age, Wilkinson concluded that there was "enough here to show they could soon make a record to dwarf this one." Craig McLean of Vox magazine thought that Change Giver managed to "transcend" the connotations with Oasis and the New Wave of New Wave scene which faced Shed Seven prior to the record's release. He compared "Dolphin" to the "tom-tom frothiness" of the Jack Rubies, noted a Byrds-like vocal interplay in "Speakeasy", and declared that the album "rides off into the sunset with the eight-minute riff-a-thon 'On an Island with You'." Music Week gave Change Giver a four out of five rating, and stated that it comprised "tight ensemble playing and a soul-tinged, mod-pop cool that is built to last."