So Much Scandinavian
AOR heavily references British pop. The Move, ELO, Badfinger and of course The Beatles are all influences. The same is true for so many US punk/pop/rock bands like Weezer and The Fountains Of Wayne.
Shineth is part of the new wave of Scandinavian
AOR. All of the above can be heard in the band's songs, yet you wouldn't describe
Shineth's music as anything else but
AOR. A more obvious reference point might be TNT's great
AOR album 'Intuition' or Bad Habit's 'After Hours'.
Shineth's self produced, independently released debut,
'11 Out Of 10' stretches a shoestring budget into corners it really has no right to reach. The sound is dynamic and sharp, though the mix sometimes needs balancing.
It's maybe the fact that the music is so obviously derivative that will hold back any interested label from taking the plunge - if
'Joker' and '
Like A Human' had appeared uncredited to
Shineth on the latest
Valentine album, no one would have noticed the difference.
It's clear though that this is a studio smart band with talent, musicianship and the ability to write sturdily melodic songs and decent hooks.
The real magic on
'11 Out Of 10' is woven when the band lean that bit more toward the harder and the heavier, neatly combining soaring choruses with massed harmonies and toughened up guitars.
'Requiem - Die Happy',
'The Crime' and the post modern '
Leaving Home' are passionate, concise, punchy, reminiscent of the golden days of melodic rock, cast in a twenty first century light.
'Blue Sky' ends the album on an acoustic, melancholy note. Not a great song, but it succeeds in showing another side of the band. If it were left to me though, I'd drop this song and the comic misfire of
'Country Girl' and add one or two more like
'Leaving Home'. Then we really would have an album to be reckoned with.
Written by
Brian Saturday, July 15, 2006
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