As their debut album hits the racks, THE SHINING find themselves in rather an unenviable position. OK, the simple fact that they have two former members of an influential and hugely popular group in their ranks has no doubt helped cut through red tape and a certain amount of dues paying, but the sharp side of the double-edged sword is that they will forever be wrestling with the spectre of THE VERVE when they release a record.
So it's gratifying to note that "True Skies" comes as a massive 'SO WHAT!!' hollered from the rooftops in response. Indeed, as their three singles so far have suggested that THE SHINING are far too busy carving out their own niche to worry about the past, then the parent album finds them ripping up the rulebook and plumping for simply the most bitching rock'n'roll they can muster. Detractors? "True Skies" just shrugs and tells 'em all go hang.
Frankly, most of this is convincing stuff in its' own right. Sure, the reference points are pretty obvious (the cocky, rough-hewn Britrock staples like Led Zep, Oasis and yeah, The Verve in places), but THE SHINING are intuitive enough to stamp classy watermarks all over this affair and with ex-KILLING JOKE bassist and deskmeister extraordinaire Youth at the controls, their confidence comes seeping through.
The three SHINING singles thus far suggest this quintet have the 45RPM thing off pat. "Quicksilver" opens the proceedings and still sounds like one of the tastiest statements of intent around. Howling, terrifying and great, it clocks in some place between THE STONE ROSES of "Love Spreads" and LED ZEP circa "Presence." "I Wonder How" and "Young Again" ain't slouches either. The former scores quickly via that nastily infectious Stones-y chorus falsetto chant and the latter creeps up nicely, slipping from contemplative, through weedy acoustic reverie to electric thunderbolt with the effectiveness of a greased eel.
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Elsewhere, THE SHINING prove themselves to be remarkably adept in a veriety of situations. "Find A Reason" floats in with echoes of the Spectorian wall of sound and alt.country steel guitar peals, whilst "Danger" begins bright, touting almost Beatle-esque verses and a tasty FX-fuelled guitar break. Both are familiar, but individual enough to scrape out their own space and demsonstrate that this Wigan five-piece give bloody good crescendo.
This writer's main criticism of "True Skies" is that it does peter out somewhat as it heads towards the chequered flag. "Find Your Way Home" is perhaps the best track here (bar the ace "Quicksilver"), managing to sound vengeful and pretty all at once. "If you cross me once more, it will be forever" warns singer Duncan Baxter, showing how easily he can shake off the Ashcroft/ Brown monkeys should he so choose, while drummer Mark Heaney (a real find) goes apeshit Moon mental, but it's followed by the slight "What You See" - pastoral strums and Fender rhodes go nowhere slowly - and "Until The End", a lengthy, mantra-like thing that will probably be a heatseeker live but here sounds far too desperate to impress.
Nonetheless, "True Skies" is a solid, cohesive and often inspired first collection that illustrates THE SHINING are stepping neatly into their stride. The lavish, colour-tinted packaging and LOVE-style merging facial images suggests that both money and expectation are in the air, but "True Skies" is largely good enough to send the ominous black clouds packing.
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