Constantines - Shine A Light - 2006 Indie Punk - Black Vinyl - 180 Grm LP + 7"

Constantines - Shine A Light



Label: Sub Pop
SP569, You've Changed Records – SP569
Format: Black Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
180 grm Vinyl, 7", Single, 45 RPM

New but not Sealed
Country: USA & Canada
Released: 10 Jun 2014
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock


Tracklist

Shine A Light

A1 National Hum
A2 Shine A Light
A3 Nighttime / Anytime (It's Alright)
A4 Insectivora
A5 Young Lions
A6 Goodbye Baby & Amen


B1 On To You
B2 Poison
B3 Scoundrel Babes
B4 Tiger & Crane
B5 Tank Commander (Hung Up In A Warehouse Town)
B6 Sub-Domestic



7"-C1 Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
7"-C2 Raw Youth


7"-D Hotline Operator


The record has been out of print on vinyl since 2006, the fact that the band has gotten the band back together and is set to play this summer, it seemed like the perfect time to get Shine A Light back on the shelves,

Shine a Light was the Constantines’ second full-length and first for Sub Pop. And the record is ambitious, combining a steady diet of ‘90s DC rock (like a Joe Strummer-fronted Fugazi, it’s been suggested), with dub-inflected bass, blue-eyed soul and a fundamental punk, anytime/anywhere aesthetic (perhaps best described by drummer Doug MacGregor as, “Like an unwelcome mix of a Memphis Clash and breakneck dub”). The opening lines from the title track hint at the difficulty in nailing down the elusive “it” that is at play on this record, “Don’t talk to me about simple things/There’s no such thing/All a man can build is his vision/And I love my man for trying.”



The Constantines: "Shine a Light." This, my friends, is grit; this is power; this rock and soul at its most vital; this is music that invites you in and then kicks you in the face. Many reviewers have already done a great deal of name-dropping, and whether you like that kind of thing, find it useful or not - believe me, you can feel the influences. At the same time, you know that the Constantines aren't ripping off any of the bands or singers that you hear in their music - this record is both an homage and a new creation.


On tracks like (my favorite) "Insectivora," when the lead is growling about "learning to survive on earthworms and houseflies"; or in (another favorite) "Tank Commander," where he ventriloquizes the song's hero, "howling at the moon" - the record cannot but show you its lyrical power and techical proficiency. Like Springsteen, Waits, and Strummer - the Constantines' Webb's voice comes across as something simultaneously foreboding and sympathetic.

Listening to "Shine a Light," whether it be the phenomenal title track, or "Young Lions," or "Onto You," or "Poison," - I get this mental image of some truly hardcore, but eminently approachable dudes sitting on the front porch of a shed somewhere in the Canadian wilderness, drinking whisky straight out of a bottle, chain smoking, and occasionally firing guns into the air - all in celebration of rock and roll, raising hymns of exuberant praise for life, love, and human relationality itself.


Musically, the record veers seamlessly between hard-charging tracks like "Tank Commander," and "Nighttime/Anytime" to the emotively stirring "Onto You," "Shine a Light," and "Young Lions." Guitars, bass, drums, keyboard, and even the occasional horn fanfare ("Insectivora," especially) - nothing here is unnecessary or frivolous - every sound contributes, and the key of the music meshes so well with Webb's voice...This record is just a triumph of rock. If you're wondering where grit-rock, if you will, resides these days, you owe it to yourself to peep the Constantines.

Constantines - Tank Commander (Live)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Vbh0-tvws0o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Constantines - Insectivora (Live)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VQe6esYvCwg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Constantines - Nighttime/Anytime (It's Alright)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/izccSXNFLc4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>