After Years
Clairecords is extremely proud to present 'After Years' - a collection of recordings previously released on the Sarah Records label by Secret Shine. After Years compiles the 'Ephemeral' & 'Loveblind' singles, the 'Untouched' album, & the 'Greater Than God' EP - each in their entirety, all on one convenient disc (ironically enough, this release does NOT include the 'After Years' single - but who could resist such a befitting name for this collection?). All of these recordings have been out of print for years, & have been known to fetch over $70 on certain evil auction websites. In September, 1991, Secret Shine released two debut singles ('After Years' & 'Unbearable') on two different labels (Sarah Records & A Turntable Friend, respectively), within a week of each other. The sound of these singles was definitive Sarah Records-styled pop. Shortly thereafter the band changed their sound to something more distorted, loud, & raw - but definitely still melodic. 'Ephemeral' was released in April, 1992 & was the first hint at this band's great sonic achievements. 'Loveblind' followed in March of 1993, & was quite a success - the single was played every night on Steve Lamacq's show as 'Single of the Week', & that same week John Peel also played it every night - it reached #19 on the UK indie charts. 'Untouched' was released a month later & was the bands shining moment - a full 8 tracks of gorgeous, blissful shoegaze/dreampop. Reverbed & distorted guitars, ethereal boy/girl harmonies, sonic bliss... 'Greater Than God' was Secret Shine's last release for Sarah, & was their hardest-edged sounding release to date, taking big cues from the loudest bits of MBV's 'Loveless'. 17 tracks packaged in digipak format. Clairecords. 2003.