Last year, Rune Grammofon released a couple of records which were placed quite handily in my end of year rundown, and a bunch of their artists were involved in my favourite gig of the year.  Nothing out of the ordinary there – if I’d made a similar list in 2005 I’d probably have had the likes of Supersilent 7 and Arve Henriksen’s Chiaroscuro at the top of the list.  The fact that I was born with an extra ventricle means I am biologically able to reserve a special place in my heart for their output.  I’m probably going to name my first born child Rune in their honour, and then climb a mountain in the himalayas, and plant it head first amongst the rocks at the top with a Kim Hiorthoy-designed flag fluttering from its ankles.

But I might just keep the abortionist’s number close at hand for now.  The new album from Shining is probably the least good thing RG have released in a while.  Shining appear to have so much that they want to fit in to this record that it all ends up a bit of a stylistic jumble, with occasional moments of thundering mathy-prog guitar lost amidst some meandering non-contributory improv doodles and vocals which sound like the incidental music from The Simpsons’ Tree House Of Terror series.  “1:4:9”, in a blatant attempt to appeal to my rampant ADD, features all of the above in its five minutes.

I’m not saying it is a bad record; it isn’t – nothing with this many ideas can be bad (except the occasional smart-arse dictator).  Just don’t come here expecting yet another RG classic, ‘s all.  Still, new Arve Henriksen up next.  My heart is all a-flutter just thinking about it.
See what you think.  Listen to “1:4:9″ here.  Listen to some more of it on their myspace.  And on their right pretty interweb.  Tell me I’m wrong.  Again.