Secret Shine - All of the Stars

It’s been roughly 15 years since Secret Shine have released an album. Their last was in 1993 on the notorious Sarah Records titled Untouched. A fine album and occasionally overlooked gem of the first wave of shoegaze. The band would play together up until a show in Oxford in 1996, which after that they went on a hiatus of sorts. They would return in 2004 with the release After Years, which compiled a majority of their back catalog including the aforementioned Untouched. This all resulted in two more EP’s in 2006 leading up to their recently released new album All of the Stars, which is being handled by the excellent Clairecords. It’s been a long time coming, however I think the reception will be most favorable.

The amount of time between full-lengths here is obviously a large one for any band. While the EP’s were a nice dose of new recordings, I was still intrigued as to how a new full-length would turn out and sit alongside in comparison to Untouched. The band holed up for practically all of 2007 to record All of the Stars. At first listen to it I was completely surprised by the sheer volume of the sound. Their earlier output had mostly found its home in the more ethereal area of something like Slowdive, etc. However here on the new album the guitars have a noticeably larger and even rawer sound and feel to them. Songs like “Know” and “Café Crash” just topple over the listener like an enormous wave. Member Jamie Gingell produced the album and has done a marvelous job at capturing Secret Shine operating at a whole new level of power. Everything that made the band such an enjoyable listen during their initial run together can be found within All of the Stars and it’s quite obvious that time hasn’t slowed down these shoegaze vets one bit.

Secret Shine – Café Crash [MP3]

For those looking to pick up All of the Stars, then head on over to Tonevendor. Definitely recommended.