The Shore - The Shore [2004] [Album] [FLAC]
FLAC / Lossless / Log (100%) / Cue / 326.17 MB

Infomation:
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Sporting a vintage mix of dusky alt-rock, Verve-inspired vocals, and West Coast psychedelia, the Shore emerged from L.A.'s Silverlake district in 2002. Singer/guitarist Ben Ashley had first presented a batch of songs to producer friend Rick Parker, who encouraged Ashley to record demos of the material with local musicians Kyle Mularky (guitar), Cliff Magreta (bass), and John Wilmer (drums). The Shore eventually signed with Maverick Records and issued an introductory EP in 2003, followed by a self-titled LP in August 2004. Although "Hard Road" enjoyed a small amount of radio airplay, the album failed to yield the commercial returns that Maverick Records had expected, and the Shore found themselves without a label when Maverick was dissolved into Warner Music Group shortly thereafter. Ashley responded by returning to the drawing board and sketching out another batch of songs, many of which found their way onto the Shore's independent sophomore release, Light Years. Produced by Rick Parker, the album was released digitally in 2008.

Review by Johnny Loftus (from AllMusic.com)
3 out of 5 stars

The Shore's full-length Maverick debut offers enthusiasts of the AAA radio format a palette-pleasing aggregate of spacy Britpop and dusty American rock texture. It's a fashionable, well-appointed album, impeccably designed for the leisuring iPods of listeners who like their music furiously in the moment. Ben Ashley -- songwriting brains and frontman of the Shore -- channels Richard Ashcroft brazenly, particularly the cheekboned one's more dramatic solo work. But that won't matter to those swooning over the Shore's sun-spackled piano ballad "Take What's Mine," or the dusky, loopy, string-laden opener, "Hard Road" -- the sound might be shockingly derivative, but since three out of five Americans have either forgotten or never knew of the Verve and Ride, the Shore's lapping pace and gentle waves will wash forth as fresh and new as a watercolor daydream. "Waiting for Sun" plays soft pop verses off a chorus melody worthy of Embrace's grandeur (more keening strings, stat!), while "It Ain't Right" and "Firefly" do nice things with tensile electric guitar dynamics and changes into fluttery vocal harmonies. In its weaker moments ("Everything We Are"), The Shore drifts into middling alterna-pop. The Shore -- coming soon to a vintage-inspired Levis ad.

Tracklist:
4:26 | 01. Hard Road
4:17 | 02. Firefly
3:56 | 03. Take What's Mine
4:28 | 04. Everything We Are
4:08 | 05. Waiting for the Sun
4:44 | 06. Different Ways
4:02 | 07. It Ain't Right
5:17 | 08. Hold On
4:03 | 09. I'll Be Your Man
6:56 | 10. Coming Down