The Shine Brothers on twitter
Hello Griefbirds! is the debut album by The Shine Brothers and it is a very impressive release. The songs often have a darker edge to them veiled in a 60s psych or ‘sunshine pop’ groove. There are also some great fuzz guitar tones and solos. The vocals are spot on with great harmonies and variety of styles. There are brilliant contrasts here and I’m not quite sure how they achieve the balance but they do and it is highly recommended listening. It was released by Cardinal Fuzz (CFUL020) with a limited press of 500 and comes with a download code with 3 bonus tracks. It is available from Cardinal Fuzz online shop but you’d better move fast, there’s only a handful left
Climb the Ladder is a great opening track. A real psych vibe with a great groove. It’s a great example of contrasts because the rhythm suggests a jolly / happy feel but the lyrics are somewhat seedy.
Creation opens with a bit of a more chunkier groove and a great riff which repeats through the song. Builds a crescendo then releases ending with the riff.
Innocent Girl has a more laid back feel but again a solid vibe and great solo lines, especially the trem guitar which rounds out the song; great tone.
So Many People is then a bit more uptempo and edgy. Vocals are more spoken which works really well. Again there is a solid vibe and great solo lead lines. The song ends with a nice solo and feedback.
Cago Palo also has an edgy almost angst feel to the song. Great riffing and energy.
Silver Knife is then a contrast being really mellow in comparison and has a great opening riff. This track has spoken vocals which develop a groove followed by a great fuzz riff leading into an uptempo chorus releasing the tension back into the mellow groove before ending on the uptempo chorus.
Drug Dogs opens with another great riff, solid groove and great harmonies. The song has a different vocal style, slightly behind the beat which suits the song very well.
White Tears is then more uptempo, having a call and response type of feel between the vocals and guitar at times. Great build and release of tension.
Manic Swing opens with feedback leading into a very laid back groove with great vocals. There’s also a great distorted guitar tone for the riffs and a nice building of tension released at the end of the song.
When Wendy Burns has a slow groove and the song slowly builds tension really well. It is a dark story of a relationship gone very wrong. Again the vocal style suits the song very well, feeling almost disembodied at times. The solo leads into feedback and you can feel something ominous coming. And it does. The song crescendos to a mighty and rather scary climax.
