Get Your Learn On,
Shapes
'Get Your Learn On' is an incredibly dischordant and difficult listen. It twists and turns without any kind of balance, going off-kilter and into bizarre territory at the drop of a hat. The guitar work, it has to be said, is impeccable throughout, but the time changes and the way the band often descend into the downright weird doesn't always work as well as perhaps it should do. Shapes are possibly not heavy enough to get away with being totally weird and noisy, yet aren't melodic enough to make the same impact the way a band like The Mars Volta does.
That said, there are plenty of good ideas here and there are elements of songs which are fucking brilliant. The end of 'Dreams In Twisted Fuselage' is outstanding as the sqwaking of feedback and the faint backing vocal shouts create a hellish atmosphere that befits the track's name. And there are other elements of tracks which again sound top notch. But for me the band lack the consistency to thread these parts together to write whole songs which stand out in the same way. 'Retreat, Attack!' takes too long to get going, but once it does the guitar work shreds and the band sound great. But all too often something gets in the way and only parts, rather than the full song, stand out.
Shapes are a very talented unit, of that there is no doubt at all. But I'm not convinced they're at their peak yet. And when they do peak, boy are we in for a treat.
» Official Website
