SHALINI
Metal Corner
(Dalloway)
www.dallowayrecords.com 

Shalini Chatterjee and Mitch Easter come up with the goods once again but this time with the interesting addition of a metallic edge on those grrl-pop tunes. But rest assured, the Distillers this is not!

So whilst the opening “Synthesize” (“It’s okay to improvise”) leads off with a garage riff, it’s almost window dressing to Shalini’s way with a melody. The sublimely psychedelic rock pastiche “Downed” ups the ante somewhat and reminds all and sundry, Mitch’s own roots in all things Beatlesque and Byrdsian!

The rest of Metal Corner develops this tenuous premise somewhat – the Pixies evoking “Heartbreaking Machine” and “Infrared” come across like Kim Deal fronting the Bangles; the classic rock posturing of “Anthem,” “Light of Falling Objects” and “I Wanna Be Near You” proves that you can marry lilting pop with power metal chords and concepts.

Strange to consider that you never quite get to hear Mitch’s skills with a Rickenbacker 12-string but it’s great to see Shalini and Mitch stretching out their horizons so successfully. A-