Thorinshield - Thorinshield (1968)

Thorinshield is sometimes labeled a sunshine pop band by collectors, but though they share some traits with Californian sunshine pop artists, they had a more straightforward, less lightweight rock flavor than many acts given that label. On their sole, obscure, self-titled album (from 1968), the influences of the melodic rock and vocal harmonies of the 1966-1967 Beatles are evident, as are some of the ornate orchestration, production trickery, and trippily optimistic-romantic lyrics that were becoming in vogue throughout much pop music by the late '60s.

In any given era, there are numerous albums by rock musicians who've obviously assimilated styles and ideas by many leading figures of the period, but don't synthesize them in a particularly interesting way. Such was the case with Thorinshield's only album, where elements of the psychedelic Beatles, the Byrds, California harmony pop groups, and singer/songwriters jostle side by side, but the songs themselves aren't too notable. It's pop-folk-rock sung, played, harmonized, and produced with late-'60s Los Angeles craftsmanship, and if you're looking for stuff that's well-executed with those traits, it has its pleasing qualities. You'd be hard-pressed to say much about what makes this stick out from the crowd, however, and at times the inspirations become kind of obvious. "Brave New World" sounds like a mating of the Byrds, Donovan, and the Mamas & the Papas, for instance; "The Best of It" shades those colors with something of a more mainstream pop slant to the songwriting; "Prelude to a Postlude" nods to earnest singer/songwriters of the time by Bob Lind, Tim Hardin, and the like, though again with a more mainstream approach; and "One Girl" is a pretty blatant, if decent, cop of 1966-1967 Donovan. (AMG).

Tracklist :

1. Life Is a Dream ;2. Brave New World; 3. Wrong, My Friend; 4. Here Today; 5. Pleasure Time; 6. The Best of It; 7. Daydreaming; 8. Light That Love Brings; 9. Prelude to a Postlude; 10. One Girl; 11. Collage of Attitudes