Review Summary: Behold: a Shining review that doesn’t use the word ‘saxophone’ a single time
Since 2010’s Blackjazz and its 2011 live counterpart, the Norwegian metal-formerly-blackjazz-formerly-traditional-jazz band
Shining have been slipping down their critically acclaimed peak with each succeeding record.
Enter
Animal: the band’s eighth LP that resembles very little of what
Shining has evolved from - a full metamorphosis into a hard rock band with electronic dance and industrial influences. Donning an 80’s aesthetic, the reimagined
Shining upset a many number of fans with the album’s eponymous single. Disappointingly, the rest of
Animal isn’t quite as entertainingly dire as ‘Animal’s music video, the musical embodiment of the ‘Three Wolf Moon’ T-shirt, and instead presents a gauntlet of songs that bore and frustrate.
Perhaps it’s a lack of self-awareness, or perhaps it’s a lack of care; the announcement of
Shining adopting the 80’s revival aesthetic was suspiciously aligned with Muse’s. This ever-so-astute comparison with Muse only gets worse once you listen to ‘Fight Song’, what with its arpeggiating synths that remind of ‘Take a Bow’ and a guitar riff that borderline plagiarises ‘Knights of Cydonia’. Even the start of ‘Hole in the Sky’s chorus is a carbon copy of Biffy Clyro’s ‘Many of Horror’, which was an even more distressing realization.
In terms of
original songwriting, there isn’t much else that stands out - for better or for worse. The days of experimentation are long done for
Shining, resulting in pedestrian drums and safe guitar riffs. Some riffs like the final chorus of ‘When The Lights Go Out’ and ‘Take Me’ are notable – as in, they aren’t utterly forgettable. The synth leads in opener ‘Take Me’ are quite groovy, and ‘Everything Dies’ has a danceable beat and an admittedly enjoyable chorus, even with an organ section in the bridge that breaks the monotony. Dare I say that I even like that song?
Most of the lyrics in
Animal are a slew of poorly stitched together clichés. Just think of any overused phrase and it’ll probably be lurking somewhere in the album: “close to the edge”, “moth to a flame”, “nothing stays the same”, “push me close to the edge”, “shine so bright”, “written in the stars”, et cetera ad nauseam. The lyrics are barely beyond elementary and are a severe detriment to the record.
Take a moment and think back to some of
Shining’s more acclaimed songs: ‘The One Inside’, ‘Fisheye’, ‘The Madness and the Damage Done’. What’s the common theme between them? That’s right – Jørgen Munkeby sings harsh vocals.
Jørgen’s clean delivery in this album leaves a lot to be desired. The chorus of ‘My Church’ and ‘Fight Song’ are fleeting moments of flattery, but are quickly undermined by the utterly abysmal ‘When The Lights Go Out’ – a song that even has the gall to use the loathsome rhyming of “bright / right / light / tonight” in its chorus. The more aggressive vocals in ‘Animal’ and ‘Smash It Up!’ are serviceable but again, are undermined by their lyrics and pale in comparison to Munkeby’s past work. Rather concerningly, the best vocal performance in the album is from guest vocalist Linnea Dale in ‘Hole in the Sky’, which speaks volumes about the rest of
Animal. Considering the dismal lyrics and below average vocal delivery,
Animal would’ve have fared a lot better as an instrumental record with the vocal melodies provided by a synth lead.
There is nothing wrong with an artist changing their aesthetic or shifting genres – if anything, I wholeheartedly welcome it, such excellent cases being Ulver and Kayo Dot. However, when an artist changes their direction for the worse, it is incredibly hard for their audience not to compare a new album’s quality with their previous celebrated output. Even outside of the context of
Shining’s genre-defining achievements,
Animal is a subpar record with very few redeemable qualities; the very best of which can simply be described as ‘adequate’.
