The Shining Hours Wasted Time
The Shining Hours may have titled their new EP Wasted Time, but the new Brooklyn band hasn’t been wasting time at all, playing a spate of shows across New York City this summer. The EP is short in tracks, including only three, but the tracks themselves clock in from three to six minutes and give a good introduction to the bands’ overall sound, which (for me at least) rides the line between classic midwestern and Brooklyn indie.
The first track, “Retrograde,” is an energetic rock song that even touches power pop territory (in a good way). This is slightly deceptive; the second and third tracks, “Not Far Away” and “Diamonds In The Dirt” tread into more familiar indie soundscapes, ala’ The Replacements or Superchunk. The basslines of Fernando Pascual and rhythms of drummer Bill Peluso smoothly carry the songs along, as they glide rather than push forward, and allow the guitar stylings of lead guitarist Joe Peters to ride along top. Singer and rhythm guitarist David Tsai has a voice perfectly suited for this kind of music, strong enough to be forward but very melodic. The lyrics are introspective, from lines like “It’s hard to forget, my memory counts every inch” and “I can’t seem to be open today, thinking of you and my mind chooses not to stay.”
While Wasted Time is a bite-sized treat, it piques curiosity for a full length release in the future. In the meantime, you can catch The Shining Hours at Our Wicked Lady on August 9th, or Rockwood Music Hall on August 21st. Find them on Instagram, Soundcloud or Spotify.