Singer/Songwriter
Since the age of 15, Ari Shine has been working to perfect his craft, incorporating his love of late 70s rock and pop into his own contemporary tunes. In addition to writing his own material, he co-writes for numerous other bands and artists (The Secret Handshake, Josie Cotton, Gaby Moreno to name a few). When he isn’t writing and recording, he is out on the road taking his songs to the people. He’s opened for Rhett Miller, Redd Kross, Silversun Pickups, the Donnas, and many others. Last summer Shine was selected to support Chris Shiflett of the Foo Fighters on his entire US/Canadian tour.
Shine’s latest record, “Ghost Town Directory” bristles with singer/songwriter spirit yet has a slick radio-friendly gloss provided by producer Noah Shain (As Tall As Lions, Me Talk Pretty and The Secret Handshake). The introductory track is a perfect example of how this team dresses up the retro melodies in modern rock clothes. “All I’ve Got Is Love” is a blistering rocker sizzling with a crunchy riff and harmonies dripping with syrup – not too far astray from Collective Soul. The driving “Against The Night” enshrouds Bob Seger lyrics with the sort of punchy guitars that lifted the Goo Goo Dolls into superstardom. Other highlights include “Refuge In You” and the Bay City Rollers sounding “Better Anyday”. On the softer side, Shine shows off his skills for balladry on the pleasant “Here With Me” and “Shine”. The bonus track, “Ship In A Bottle”, for which there is a video below, is a sparse acoustic tune not representative of the majority of high energy, more accessible tunes on this record.
“Ghost Town Directory” is a terrific release from start to finish. Shine is an extremely promising talent that wraps his earnest, often inspirational lyrics in melodies that feature plenty of affable harmonies and interesting chord changes.
iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10
Ari Shine – Official site.
Check out the video for “Ship In A Bottle”
