This four-track EP spins the typical Matisyahu sound a little bit from its pop/old school hip-hop/reggae roots, with opener "Smash Lies" bringing out a more modern hip-hop sound and the following track "So Hi So Lo" working a more prominent guitar line in to give a rock edge. It's a diversification which is no bad thing at all, but it is noticeable that the standout tune on the release is closing track "I Will Be Light," by far the closest in sound to last album Youth.
It's all quite interesting stuff and Shattered is a fairly decent little release, but does somewhat fall into the all-too-common EP trap of acting as a whetting of the appetite rather than an appealing feast in and of itself. If you're new to the world of Hasidic Jewish reggae (I'm not exactly a scenester myself) you could do worse than checking this out, but you'd be better off picking up Youth.
