Armed with the ethereal mystery of the Cocteau Twins and the crunchy guitars of Lush, Secret Shine’s songs come in striking musical layers. A limited edition EP (only 500 have been pressed), Beyond Sea and Sky is a tasty stopgap between albums for this U.K outfit. “Lost Memory” is a blissful surge of gorgeous harmonies soaked with fuzzy and meandering guitar grooves; “Hit The Ground” may be an exercise in orchestral feedback, but amidst all of the musical chaos, the voices of Kathryn Smith and guitarist Dean Purnell conflate in a stirring and melodic blend of shoegazing bliss. The five-minute closer “Beyond Sea And Sky” is awash in stunning distortion and it finds Smith at her most existential, asking, “Now what’s left to say?” From the sound of this, my guess is a whole lot more.
~ Alex Green
