THE SHINING'S debut single "Quicksilver" was a brash affair: all swaggering riffs, brazen tunesmithery and confidence tantamount to writing "WE'VE ARRIVED" like a huge vapour trail in the sky.
Its' speedy follow-up, "I Wonder How" , by comparison, is rather more measured. It's still got MARK HEANEY'S falling lift shaft drums and the requisite cocksure bravado, but instead of bludgeoning you around the head, it creeps up with loping rhythms, SIMON TONG'S keyboards strafing around like a distant beacon and a reflective DUNCAN BAXTER vocal.
Actually, "I Wonder How's key selling point is that STONES-Y "doo doo doo doo doo doo doo" chorus which rattles around in your brain like peas in a tin can and refuses to budge whatever remedy you try to employ.
The single comes with two (not wholly dissimilar) versions, of which I'd probably - at a push - take the second as it pumps the vocal harmonies to the max and hits an ultra satisfying climax. As usual, it also showcases a YOUTH production that leaves no stone unturned in the power and atmosphere departments.
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THE SHINING'S second successful outing, then. Not only is it both anthemic and credible, it's at least the equal of what OASIS seem capable of right now. It looks as if the contenders are already shaping up in the swaggering, North country rock stakes for the summer.(8/10)
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