Secret Shine--A Tribute To Tim Morris---1974-2005--Shoegaze Unplugged

I heard about this 2005 self released charity recording by Bristol Shoegazers Secret Shine via the Big Takeover. It is a tribute to the memory of Tim Morris, their drummer, who died tragically in a workplace accident. The band reformed and put together an acoustic record of some of their songs plus some songs by Junkie, which was a band that included Tim and two other bandmembers, Scott and Dean Purnell. I tried to find it on the Internet, which led me to a nifty little site called Tonevendor, which is a place any shoegaze fanatic ought to check out. As far as I can tell, Morris is long out of print, but Tonevendor nonetheless stocks sonically challenging music from all around the world.

So Morris essentially is a shoegaze album, but without the special effects. If you took away the special effects from epic science fiction movies and summer blockbusters, would you be as impressed by the dialogue. It just to show you how strong the songwriting is in Secret Shine. And how strong the vocals of Jamie Gingell and Kathryn Smith are. Of course, even with acoustic instruments shoegazers know how to make beautiful sounds. (Probably like the Professor from Gilligan's Island building short wave radios with coconuts shells). But  what a wonderful tribute--I don't know what higher praise you could give someone than create a heartfelt work of art dedicated to their memory. Like the closing song Decay, where the band sings over and over, "What am I supposed to do, what am I supposed to do without you?" For a self released work, I was surprised to find that this was really great. Morris completely exceeded my expectations.

Many of the songs here have a reflective quality, well chosen given the subject. Silver Machine is one of my favorites here:  the lyrics  start "if we share the pain, will it make it go away?". Tim's Song obviously was made especially for this project, but songs like You Are Inside, Lost All Your Friends, and Ignite The Air evoke the strong emotions the bandmembers clearly feel for their fallen comrade.




And the proceeds went to a charitable cause, Medecins Sans Frontieres, who provide humanitarian medical aid (http://www.msf.org/). So I felt even better about picking this Cd up, if only in a small way. At this point it would probably be difficult to find this anywhere, but the next best thing would be to get some of their label released work, like the compilation After Years, which has a lot of their early output in one handy place. Their Beyond Sea and Sky ep is an equally excellent choice. Since reforming, they have put out two new albums, All of The Stars and The Beginning and The End. So the band has taken a sad event and somehow they have managed to put a positive spin on things, in the way a group like New Order emerged from Joy Division, persevering despite the loss of Ian Curtis. The past can't be changed, but we all keep living.

Danbury--First there were hats...Then There Was Rock--Monsterland--Destroy What You Love

Certainly most of you cognoscenti out there know that in the mid-1800's, no city was manufacturing more hats then Danbury, Connecticut. Sure, you've heard about the Susquehanna Hat factory from the famous Abbott & Costello skit, but Susquehanna had nothing on this town. But, wait, there's more. A great band emerged from the rubble of the once thriving millinery industry. These days they may seem unheralded, forgotten by the next generations of musics, but I tell you they existed, that they once roamed freely on the stages of clubs of Western Connecticut. I tell you truly; Monsterland was real.

Doesn't Henry Rollins have a tattoo like this?

Monsterland was a trio formed in the early 90's in a town roughly 45 minutes from my hometown, Danbury, where I would occasionally visit to purchase hockey equipment from the excellent store on Route 7 just past Costco. When I was a toddler I used to go to the giant annual fair there, which is now buried beneath a shopping mall just off of I-95. Danbury also heralded the beginning of my commute to College--Connecticut was the state I had to drive through to get to Worcester Mass, through the aforementioned Hat Town, through ancient Waterbury and past their now defunct religious amusement park Holy Land USA, and finally coming to a screeching halt in traffic in sprawling Hartford. (They have reduced a lot of that problem in more recent years). Even though the state was the source of my commuting frustrations, I can find little fault with the beautiful noise this band briefly made just across state lines.

Monsterland was comprised of Thom Monahan (vocals, bass), Greg Vegas (guitar, vocals) and Todd Cronin (drums), and they were around from 1991-1994. Destroy What You Love was their only full length album, and it is quite good. They remind me of a bunch of old alternative bands from the era, Sonic Youth, Husker Du, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr., Mission of Burma drumbeats. But they also have a pop element to their sound, like The Posies, or early period Sloan. You can pick this album and two of their eps (Loser Friendly and At One With Time) up dirt cheap, and they are well  worth getting acquainted with. When you hear their best songs you wonder why they were not more successful. But on this blog I find I am saying this a lot about some great bands.

You know, woulda coulda shoulda...been Contendahs.

I first heard about this band because in a review of this album, I learned that they did a cover of Bailter Space's astounding tune Fisheye. When I heard that, I assumed that these guys were kindred spirits, as I was and am a big fan of those Kiwi ear-bludgeoners. If I had a musical time machine, going back to see the band when they were known as The Gordons would be pretty high on my list. And my suspicions were confirmed when I listened to this album. Glorious noise and pop smarts as harmonious as a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Of course, while they do a credible job on Fisheye, its not quite the match of the hard sleek pop of the original. Their originals are where they truly shine, like on the opening song, Insulation. Simply a shoe-gazing juggernaut. Makes my ears tingle happily.





Maybe the best song on the album is the shimmering Lobsterhead, which is in the vein of Amherst's Dinosaur, Jr. Greg Vegas does a great job throughout the album wringing out a inventive variety of guitar sounds. I still feel embarrassed that a band this good was in my area and I never knew about it until it was too late. Another thing I like about this album is that the songs don't overstay their welcome--some shoegaze bands have fairly lengthy songs. At their longest, the songs here are four minutes and change, which is enough time to develop an idea and fade out.

Other favorite here are the pummelling Angel Scraper, The Sloany Twice at The End, and the riff rockin Clashing Teenage Crush. But there isn't much not to love here. The band sounds so great. They are really peers of the better known bands I have compared them to. I don't know about the other guys, but Thom Monahan was a member of the amazing Pernice Brothers for a number of years. I wonder what happened to Greg Vegas, because the guitar is pretty superlative here. Even if things didn't work out here, you would imagine his talent would be shining elsewhere. Anyway, if you've never heard these guys and liked the bands I've mentioned, or the shoegazing scene, I am confident that you will enjoy this album a lot.