• Record Label: Sub Pop
  • Release Date: Aug 19, 2003
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 1 out of 13

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  1. Scott
    Oct 12, 2004
    10
    best indie shit out there.
  2. wo
    May 3, 2004
    10
    This album does nothing but grow on you. As strong as it is the first few times you listen to it, it's far better after more. Also, this is a band that is a must see. I had no idea the show would be as good as it was. The songs were even stronger live, leaving me pretty confident that it was the best show I've ever seen.
  3. JamieR
    Apr 23, 2004
    9
    Unreal...Fat bass licks mixed with good guitar riffs. The keyboard melodies although quiet is the key ingredient. Bry's Tom Waits-esque makes you hurt yourself singing along, but singing along to a catchy album like this is something you cant control.
  4. MitchB
    Dec 11, 2003
    10
    These songs are perfectly composed to emphasize the poetic lyrics and the intricate, yet intense melodies. The Constantines are prophets.
  5. SethP
    Oct 1, 2003
    10
    Wow. This is a breath of fresh air.
  6. TrevorP
    Sep 19, 2003
    10
    Oh boy. Oh boy. Seriously. Buy this album.
  7. Amanda
    Sep 11, 2003
    9
    Wow. Once a year there's a CD that pumps me up so much that i find myself uncontrollably speeding as a drive around listen to it. Last year, I received a speeding ticket while "jamming" to And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead's Source Tags and Name Codes. And, this year, it was The Constantine's Shine a Light. Speeding tickets become my criteria for a top album of Wow. Once a year there's a CD that pumps me up so much that i find myself uncontrollably speeding as a drive around listen to it. Last year, I received a speeding ticket while "jamming" to And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead's Source Tags and Name Codes. And, this year, it was The Constantine's Shine a Light. Speeding tickets become my criteria for a top album of the year. Shine a Light is full of what music today was essentially missing. Poetic prose lyrics, driving guitar, and that raspy Springstein voice. Tempo changes, lovely bass lines, everything that encompasses a TIMELESS rock album. Well done, my friends to the north, well done. Expand

Awards & Rankings

Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 19
  2. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Though not quite the slap in the face issued by their debut, even this album's very worst song shines a light on what's wrong with our landscape. Find it and follow.
  2. This is the kind of indie rock record you wait all year for.
  3. There is a monumental feeling of strength and courage in their music that is impossible to deny.