The ten songs on Aiming for the Sun feature Shayna Rain, a woman who is obviously influenced by Janis Joplin who refrains from sounding exactly like her. It helps that her music, while bluesy, also can venture into folk territory. None of the songs are rockers, but they’re steady and competent. When Rain and her band go really mellow, such as on “You’ll Never Leave” and the reprise of that same song, is when they truly shine. It sounds like a woman was doing vocals for an emo pop band when they decided to do the one acoustic song on their album. That’s not meant to be a critique; it is actually a welcome change. The reprise of “You’ll Never Leave” is the album’s finale and the best track. It’s got power and emotion and a nice build. It actually made me feel feelings, which is pretty rare for a random album I review for Razorcake.Good job, Shayna, this emotional robot is not dried up yet!
–kurt (G.C.)