When you get past the low expectations of this disc, there are some bright vocal moments.
Label: Fairtrade
Time: 11 Tracks / 42 minutes
I must be frank: I’ve always had a problem with Shane and Shane. It is their name. Nearly everyone I’ve come across with a “something and something” name has been some aged, tacky, cheap entertainer with little hope of dragging me three doors away to hear them; but what really gets to me is more the lack of imagination. OK, so the singers are both called Shane, but is it that really so unusual or exciting? There are solo artists giving themselves names that suggest bands to give themselves more identity. As it is, the name shouts, “We have no character or sense of adventure!”
Their tracks on CCM compilations have always given substance to that suspicion, sounding like the frothy, watery part of a blended smoothie that reflects the taste of the fruits it came from, but has none of the chunky, tasty bits.
But on this release, I have had to reconsider, although the duo does make the experience a rollercoaster ride. By the end of the first song, “The One You’ll Find,” there’s definitely a vocal talent worth listening to, a decent melody and (probably deliberately) an echo of Rend Collective; but then the title track begins and it feels like a hollow pastiche of some ‘80s disco track – a style that needs a whole big sound to make it work. But again, by the end of the piece, they had surreptitiously built up to a big production job that made it succeed.
And so it goes on: “Eyes on You” features that big Jars of Clay sound-alike style that seemed to enter CCM with the first half of Nouveaux’s “And This is How I Feel” release, but the start of “In a Little While” returns to sounding weak – but, by halfway through, again that has built to reflect the exciting hope of resurrection that the song is about.
Maybe this has something to do with the recording process. The Shane Gang has recently bought an old house and turned it into a studio, miking every room. For this release, they invited over friends Jason Hoard (Third Day), Tyler Chester (Fiction Family), Josh Moore (Caedmon's Call) and their own drummer Joey Parish. The team spent a week eating, chatting, playing and recording together.
Across the disc, Shane One sounds impassioned about his cause and Shane Two works as an enriching echo. Their harmonies are strong and their words – across the narrow spectrum of CCM content – are worth hearing.
In too big a quantity, Shane One’s voice can feel a bit much and suffers from the lack of variety that presumably has forced the producer into the rollercoaster approach (there should have been more of the light female backing that appears on the closing “Though You Slay Me” or some instrumental space). But this will doubtless please their longtime fans and win them respect from others.
Best taken three tracks at a time, or download “The One You’ll Find” and “Crucify Him.”
Derek Walker
http://walkerwords.wordpress.com
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