Shining - Grindstone
SKU
05-RUNEGRAMMOFON2060
Excellent, dense work by this band. Be prepared to give this one multiple listenings before coming to any kind of judgement!
"This is the fourth album (2nd on Rune Grammofon) from Norway's experimental collective, Shining. The press dropped many names when trying to place Shining's previous album on the musical map, from The Mars Volta and Slayer via King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra to Henry Cow, This Heat, Ornette Coleman, Ligeti and Messiaen. One thing they all agreed on was the striking originality of this young group who had gone through a radical transition from starting out as a post-bop jazz quartet. With In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster they tried to squeeze in as much as they could, but masterful editing and production from Kåre Chr. Vestrheim made it all stick together in a very convincing way. Vestrheim is also the producer of Grindstone. Multi-instrumentalist, writer and mainman Jørgen Munkeby is, like many of his contemporaries, from a young generation of Norwegian musicians, not content with sticking to one genre but listening to and drawing inspiration from several places, something that is as evident with this album as it was with its predecessor. Just witness how they move between complex riffing, filmic soundscapes, jazz, and classical and modern composition, all on the turn of a dime. Orchestral, confusing, thrilling. Shining is: Jørgen Munkeby (guitar, sax and various instruments); Torstein Lofthus (drums); Andreas Schei (keyboards); Morten Strøm (bass)."