Big Shiny Cars is a big, shiny CD, a brightly polished, late model, fully-loaded modern roadster fresh off the assembly line. With such a radio-ready collection, Pinmonkey has erased the prefix in their previous alt-country classification. The band as the members no doubt have seen the promised land in opening for Alan Jackson and Brad Paisley, but there’s little here to distinguish Pinmonkey from what else is on commercial radio.
Their song selection is respectable, with numbers penned by Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison (“That Train Don’t Run”), Dolly Parton (“Down”), Bruce Robison (“Wrapped”) and Joy Lynn White and Duane Jarvis (“Love Sometimes”). Each track is mounted with slick production, tight, high harmonies, and flawless instrumentation. Their originals, “Fallin’ All the Time” and “Living Proof” among them, fit right with the covers.
While the songs are easy to listen to, even in heavy rotation, they’re not interesting enough to create anticipation. Singer-songwriter Michael Reynolds, bassist Michael Jeffers and drummer Mike Crouch are joined this time by new electric guitarist Mike McAdam — yes, the fourth Michael in the quartet — and the evolution seems complete. Pinmonkey is ready for CMT.