It’s difficult to tell from this song whether Jo Oliver is a rocker who happens to write very melodic and infectious songs or is a pop artist trying to build a more robust and memorable sound. Not that it really matters that much because either way you look at it Shine On works a treat. If pop music often follows the same tried and tested pathways and rock music is riddled with cliche and bombast, here we find a song that is able to neatly walk the fine line that divides the two camps.
As the video makes clear Jo Oliver is a solo act that is able to fill the same sonic space as a full band playing all the instruments himself, a rarity in this age of studio tricks and sampling. The result is a song that bridges generic gaps, it has enough rock muscle so that you can’t ignore it, enough groovesome pop moves that you can’t help but want to boogie along to it and is infused with a soulfulness that means that it also appeals to a whole set of more uptown and urbane music consumers.
Genres are a thing of the past, too long have artists followed ridged tribal lines and revelled in the singular sounds that set us apart, maybe it is time instead to better explore the common ground and that is exactly what Jo Oliver does so well here.
For more music and information check out the following links.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/11rtuWz0Mse4pEfGcsaBQW
Web: www.jooliver.net
cool! But the 2nd link does not work…
Thanks for pointing that out, have added working links at the foot of the review. Thanks for being so vigilant.