Before the first verse was even halfway through I found myself sat right back in my chair with a grin plastered across my face. Why? Because these latest sounds from The Shanklins remind me of exactly why I first fell in love with music. Through the simple use of instruments, the band are able to invoke emotions in a way that anything but the arts has ever seemed to spark within me.
The guitar-heavy sound is exactly the sort of thing that draws so many of us towards music and this lot certainly know how to balance the light and the dark, the rough and the smooth, the high end and that ruddy marvellous bass. There’s a sense of sheer determination rushing through every last chord and as the vocals strain away at every last word as if it were a poet leaving his final sentiments you feel as though you’re being let in on something very secretive. Though they do seem oddly keen to shout it from the rooftops.
Still, if my thought and emotions were quite as powerful and inspiring as this I’d have gone into overdrive by now. This is bloomin’ gorgeous.
We Close Tonight 