Single Review: Shines – Same Streets, Different Ghosts

SAME STREETS, DIFFERENT GHOSTS

If ‘Same Streets, Different Ghosts‘ feels like a line in the sand for Shines, that’s because it is. This isn’t just a new single, it’s the sound of a band recalibrating, reshuffling the pack and stepping forward with intent.

Arriving in the wake of signing to Echo Bass Records and following the departure of founding member Rob Cross and bass player Marc Poole, this track marks the first proper glimpse of Shines MKII. What’s striking is how little uncertainty seeps into the music. Written and recorded in a tight, instinct-led burst, the song feels immediate and self-assured, as if the band knew exactly what needed to be said and how to say it.

Built around a driving melody and a steady sense of forward motion, the track never overreaches. The guitars push with quiet confidence, the rhythm section keeps everything locked and moving. Richie Dutton’s vocal sits right inside the mix, pulling the whole thing together rather than dominating it. There’s no excess here, just momentum and purpose.

Lyrically, ‘Same Streets, Different Ghosts‘ reflects on change through familiarity and revisiting old ground as different people, carrying the past without being weighed down by it. Fittingly, the song was co-written by Dutton and new guitarist Ethan Taylor, whose arrival feels less like a bolt-on and more like a natural evolution of the Shines sound.

Early backing from John Kennedy, who spun the track twice on Radio X’s X-Posure and named it one of his “Hot Ones”, suggests others are hearing it too. This is reinvention done quietly but confidently, not tearing everything up but refining, refocusing and moving forward.

Completed by Danny Thomas on bass and the ever-solid Chris Day on drums, ‘Same Streets, Different Ghosts‘ isn’t just a fresh chapter for Shines, it’s proof they’re switched on, settled and pushing ahead with purpose.