1 Tangled in the Mane 3:29
2 Our Hollow Reasons 3:33
3 The Sacred and Profane 2:52
4 Bells at Twelve 2:52
This is a bit overdue review of this EP, especially given the band were nice enough to send me access to hearing this EP like a month ago. But I've been busy, and also as some may perceive, as much as this blog is called "allmediareviews" it is or has become much less about "reviews" specifically, and more about news or announcing information about new releases.
Not that it's not supposed to be about reviews, but truth be, I didn't actually pick the name, and it's a bit past the point of no return now to change the name. But who knows. I also wish I could write reviews better, but personally, I think my reviews aren't amazing.
But what I can say about this EP is, it's a tease in some ways. It's a decent collection of songs, that don't stray far from Sound & Shape's previous music. Some nice, subtle vocal harmonies. Tight guitar riffs. I guess it's less prog-like, in that the songs don't take huge twists or anything. And frankly, they are just shorter tunes.
But the best thing I can say about it is, even at about 12 minutes, the music has grown a bit on me, especially after finally getting to hear these songs with headphones. I didn't even notice the piano on the ballad "Our Hollow Reasons" until hearing it with headphones. Stuff like that, and even the lyrics mentioning the devil in the details and time stand still on "The Sacred and the Profane." Saigon Kick and Rush? :p Probably not, but I can't help but think of them. I recall even King's X has a song with the lyric "time stand still" like Rush.
The last track "Bells at Twelve" has probably the most memorable chorus on this.
"Brothers and Sisters, time is the same, til we can...scared, the strong and the brave. As soldiers we march on, we sing til the end, and we'll dance til the dawn"
So all in all, a nice, short collection of songs, that'll hopefully be regarded as just a sample of what's to come. As the band mentioned releasing a full-length record initially, and perhaps even later this year. I guess some of that could be due to how well this EP does. I guess my feeling is, for Sound & Shape to reach larger audiences, the crowd should still hear The Love Electric from 2009, as that grabbed me initially.
But this EP is not a bad example of them making more accessible (length) songs. If it does, I'd love to see that, as I still am surprised, especially amongst progressive rock circles, how unknown these guys are. Especially considering how much they played live just a few years ago.
Related: Sound & Shape - Now Comes The Mystery (EP) (2011) (1.0)