The Shore is an American

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

group formed in 2002 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. They were signed to Maverick Records in 2002 and released their self-titled debut album in 2004. After Maverick was shut down, they independently released their second and third studio albums, ''Light Years'' and ''Second Sight'', in 2008 and 2014, respectively.

History

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Ben Ashley moved from his hometown of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and recorded a set of demos with producer Rick Parker in the spring of 2002. Guitarist Kyle Mullarky, bassist Cliff Magreta, and drummer John Wilmer were brought on to contribute to the demos, and eventually formed The Shore with Ashley after Parker found A&R for the group, which led to a record deal with Maverick Records. The Shore's debut self-titled studio album was written over the course of three months by Ashley and produced and mixed by Parker. It was released in August 2004 through Maverick, two months after

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, the label's co-founder, left. Although the album failed to receive much attention outside of airplay on

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

stations, throughout 2005, they toured in promotion of the album in the United Kingdom and the United States, and soon began writing material for their next studio album. Wayne Faler, a touring guitarist and background vocalist, was added as a permanent member of the band in 2005. Soon after, Maverick was shut down. The Shore independently released their second studio album, ''Light Years'', in October 2008. Andrew Leahey of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

favorably described the album as "every bit as hazily gorgeous as its predecessor." The band's third studio album, ''Second Sight'', was released in 2014.

Musical style

The Shore has frequently been compared by critics to English rock band The Verve. ''

The Daily Titan The ''Daily Titan'' is the student newspaper published at California State University, Fullerton in Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city ha ...

'' compared the band's early music to

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

of the

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...

and

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War i ...

, while ''

The Badger Herald ''The Badger Herald'' is a newspaper serving the University of Wisconsin–Madison community, founded in 1969. The paper is published Monday through Friday during the academic year and once during the summer. Available at newsstands across campus ...

''s Chris Ewing compared it to early-1990s Britpop, describing it as "safe

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

". AllMusic's Andrew Leahey wrote that the band had a "mix of California

and summery swoon." According to Spartan Daily, "the band portrays a very neo-psychedelic pop sound and mixes it up with lush keyboards to have a modern sound."The Shore makes waves with rock and psychedelic-influenced debut
/ref> The Shore are influenced by the bands

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

and Coldplay. Ashley has listed singer-songwriters

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

and Gram Parsons as influences.

Members

* Ben Ashley – lead vocals, lead guitar (2002–present) * John Wilmer – drums (2002–present) * Kyle Mullarky – guitar, bass (2002–present) * Cliff Magreta – bass (2002–present) * Wayne Faler – guitar, background vocals (2005–present)

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shore, The 2002 establishments in California Alternative rock groups from California Musical groups established in 2002