Shine's "One Day..." is a lemony slice of melancholy French downtempo that comes on with a strong Zero 7 vibe and a vocal personality drifting in a breathy, ultra-feminine space somewhere between Emiliana Torrini and Telepopmusik.

1. Ashbury
2. Insomnie
3. One Day
4. Daylight
5. Hawai

As a band, Shine have strong roots in jazz music, so it almost goes without saying that the influence is clearly heard in their music.

"Ashbury" is a slow-rolling breaks piece with an almost Portishead-meets-Zero 7 sound. Vocalist Hanane Laraki's airy, but grounded style meets with soft keys, sweeping synths and deep-but-subtle rolling bass over mellow, jazzy breaks. After the bridge Guillaume Simon drops in a sax solo that threatens to be a little overbearing, but in the end, closes out the song nicely.

"Insomnie" is a short, delicate song comprised entirely of breathy vocals (sung in French) over melancholy guitar.

"One Day" reveals (in subtle ways) the influence jazz has had on these musicians. The sound isn't like a classic Blue Note jazz, it's more contemporary than that. At times it really reminds me of work produced by a band called Love Spirals Downwards. Soft, feminine, and slowly moving with soft keys and subtly rock-styled percussion, the kind you often hear in Sarah McLachlan's songs.

"Daylight" brings on mellow breaks, breathy vocals, and acoustic guitar in a Spanish-influenced style. It's nice, but I'm left feeling this song needs "something", as emotionally it doesn't take me far from where it begins.

The last track on the EP called "Hawai" has a nice jazzy feel and a drifting, loungey vibe that drops in sweet chorus melodies at all the right places. The only unfortunate aspect is the heavy sax solo that brings "Hawai" to a close. I'll admit my bias and confess the saxophone is probably my least favorite instrument to listen to, but it can sound good in small doses, and this solo, although short, is just a little too heavy for the petite frame the rest of the song provides.

Definitely give "Ashbury" and "Insomnie" a spin, and if you've got a taste for soft, loungey downtempo with sax solo's you really need to try "Hawai".

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