Cory Webster
Shinola comes to you based out of Columbus, Ohio and has the happy upbeat sound of the bubble gum rock and roll bands of the not so distant early 1990's one hit wonders.
I was asked to do a review of their self-titled release and was impressed with the art the disc package displayed.
I admit it took a while to get it into my cd player but it eventually made it without having to "make time" for it. I wanted to listen to it at my leisure. Most of the songs have a similarity and generalization about them, they sound like, well sort of the Beatles, I guess, with a mixture of the Monkees and some 50's high school prom band. I assume this is Shinola's first release, although I don't know.
The mastering or something in the recording made some of the songs muddy with high treble, making my eq go crazy. I'm sure they'll take a more professional recording approach with their next release which may create a more original feel to their songs. I wouldn't discard this cd just yet, there is potential.
One of the cuts I did like was #6 - Groovy Thing. The rhythm is great, easy going but soulful, yep, it had heart and with the sounds of the guitar almost bleeding gives it pure enlightenment. This would be a cool single. Over all the disc has some variety and in my opinion would probably appeal to a young group of listeners.