Constantines – Shine a Light

Shine a Light is the second album from the Constantines and their first on Sub Pop. The album was nominated for Alternative Album of the Year at the 2004 Juno Awards.

Shine a Light ranked 35th in CBC Radio's 2013 list of the 100 Greatest Canadian Albums and 83rd in Bob Mersereau's The Top 100 Canadian Albums book, Pitchfork – the online music magazine – rated Shine a Light as the 172nd best album of the 2000s, and it has generally met with critical acclaim:

• AllMusic gives it 4.5 stars out of 5
• Pitchfork rates it an 8.7 out of 10

I went on a bit of a Constantines kick a decade or so ago and purchased their first two albums. Although I can theoretically appreciate their music (compared variously to The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, Nick Cave and Fugazi), I don't listen to it much any more.

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Track Listing

1. "National Hum" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 2:49
2. "Shine a Light" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 4:47
3. "Nightime / Anytime (It's Alright)" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 4:13
4. "Insectivora" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 3:56
5. "Young Lions" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 3:50
6. "Goodbye Baby & Amen" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 4:57
7. "On to You" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 4:36
8. "Poison" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 3:36
9. "Scoundrel Babes" (Steve Lambke, Constantines) – 2:44
10. "Tiger & Crane" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 3:13
11. "Tank Commander (Hung Up in a Warehouse Town)" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 4:02
12. "Sub-Domestic" (Bry Webb, Constantines) – 3:36

Personnel

• Will Kidman – keyboards, guitar, percussion, vocals
• Steve Lambke – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Doug MacGregor – drums
• Bry Webb – vocals, guitar
• Dallas Wehrle – bass, backing vocals
• The Uptown Horns (Jonas Berkeley, Brian Cram, Colin Fisher, Andy Maize, Luca Maolini, Jeremy Strachan) – horns
• Heidi Hazelton, Simon Osborne, Reg Vermue – additional vocals