The Shore
's full-length
Maverick
debut offers enthusiasts of the AAA radio format a palette-pleasing aggregate of spacy
Britpop
and dusty American
rock
texture. It's a fashionable, well-appointed album, impeccably designed for the leisuring iPods of listeners who like their music furiously in the moment.
Ben Ashley
-- songwriting brains and frontman of
the Shore
-- channels
Richard Ashcroft
brazenly, particularly the cheekboned one's more dramatic solo work. But that won't matter to those swooning over
's sun-spackled piano
ballad
"Take What's Mine,"
or the dusky, loopy, string-laden opener,
"Hard Road"
-- the sound might be shockingly derivative, but since three out of five Americans have either forgotten or never knew of
the Verve
and
Ride
,
's lapping pace and gentle waves will wash forth as fresh and new as a watercolor daydream.
"Waiting for Sun"
plays soft
pop
verses off a chorus melody worthy of
Embrace
's grandeur (more keening strings, stat!), while
"It Ain't Right"
"Firefly"
do nice things with tensile electric guitar dynamics and changes into fluttery vocal harmonies. In its weaker moments (
"Everything We Are"
),
drifts into middling
alterna-pop
.
-- coming soon to a vintage-inspired Levis ad. ~ Johnny Loftus