The Shine’s 2004 EP Pure Dynamite proved that it is
possible to have substance with your style in the zany world of flash
metal. Even in 2004. Well, this is 2005, baby, and while I can’t say
things are any better than last year, The Shine have taken it upon
themselves to lay it on even thicker this time around. Why? Because it’s
the zany world of flash metal, that’s why. And it’s the fucking Shine,
man. Only this time it seems they’ve adopted a sense of humour, and what
we get is more like Razzle Dazzle panache than Darkness wank. Check them
out on the cover – four leather n’ tassel clad androgynies towering over a
city with electric blue lightning bolts shooting from their fists. And it
carries on into the music, from the Crystal Pistol meets screwdriver metal
opener “Heavy Gretal” (“She’s three hot chicks in one, three hundred
pounds of fun”) to the blatant KISS rip-off, “Girls Were Made to Love and
Kiss.” I mean, they had to know what they were doing when they wrote this
song, because it comes dangerously close to being a “Love Gun/I Was Made
for Loving You” hybrid cover. But The Shine is the kind of band that
laughs in the face of danger, and that’s why we like ‘em. There’s also the
Rolling Stones rock n’ blues of “Dying to Be Touched,” the yearning ballad
“Every Inch,” and the aptly-named arena rock instrumental, “Nitro.” It’s
all fireworks and big balled rawk and superpower kitsch on this one, with
enough tongue in cheek to make you appreciate the familiarity. Shine on,
my friends.
The Shine’s 2004 EP Pure Dynamite proved that it is
possible to have substance with your style in the zany world of flash
metal. Even in 2004. Well, this is 2005, baby, and while I can’t say
things are any better than last year, The Shine have taken it upon
themselves to lay it on even thicker this time around. Why? Because it’s
the zany world of flash metal, that’s why. And it’s the fucking Shine,
man. Only this time it seems they’ve adopted a sense of humour, and what
we get is more like Razzle Dazzle panache than Darkness wank. Check them
out on the cover – four leather n’ tassel clad androgynies towering over a
city with electric blue lightning bolts shooting from their fists. And it
carries on into the music, from the Crystal Pistol meets screwdriver metal
opener “Heavy Gretal” (“She’s three hot chicks in one, three hundred
pounds of fun”) to the blatant KISS rip-off, “Girls Were Made to Love and
Kiss.” I mean, they had to know what they were doing when they wrote this
song, because it comes dangerously close to being a “Love Gun/I Was Made
for Loving You” hybrid cover. But The Shine is the kind of band that
laughs in the face of danger, and that’s why we like ‘em. There’s also the
Rolling Stones rock n’ blues of “Dying to Be Touched,” the yearning ballad
“Every Inch,” and the aptly-named arena rock instrumental, “Nitro.” It’s
all fireworks and big balled rawk and superpower kitsch on this one, with
enough tongue in cheek to make you appreciate the familiarity. Shine on,
my friends.