The Black Sharks are a solid commercial band. They’ve been nicely polished by producer Nick Brine into something ear friendly on their self-titled debut album and there’s nothing wrong with that. They are also a band that knows how to write a decent song that you can actually sing along with.
I’d usually tell you something about the band but what little I could find out suggested nothing more than they appear to be from the east coast of England. However, I don’t suppose their heritage is that important when they have such nice songs. There’s a late sixties English pop music feel to “Don’t Walk Away” – probably something to do with those harmonies – that won’t do their acceptability index any harm at all and the west coast (of the USA) folk rock of “The Good’s Gone” further enhances their appeal. The standout song for me, however, was the dark street strut of “Stagger”. That’s the kind of song that makes a band’s reputation.
A lot of care has gone into this album – more than I am accustomed to hearing given my recent experience – and that alone makes this a very pleasant listening experience with my only real concern being that they, at times, sound too much like their influences and not enough like a band ready to stand out from the crowd.