Friday, April 22, 2011

Sound & Shape - Now Comes The Mystery (EP) (2011) (1.0)

4/22/11 11:37AM




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

more to add as I've heard this thanks to the band.

3/13/11 5:55PM

May 10th. And it's an EP, not an LP. Curious about that, but it sort of supports a conversation I had with a friend of mine (who actually started a new music reviews blog of his own recently) about bands for cost, time, convenience, quality, releasing EPs more often than LPs. Pre-1966, it was more about the Single than the LP.

Maybe the EP is the compromise? Who knows, but that's for another blog entry. I am still rather excited to hear this, no matter how long or how many songs it has.


"Now Comes The Mystery out , in both physical and digital formats, May 10th!!! Please RT!"


-"Here it is folks! Our new EP,Now Comes The Mystery,will be out in both physical and digital formats on Tuesday, May 10th! More details soon!"

2/27/11 6:37PM

soundandshape twitter post

I can't give all the details quite yet, but I can say that our new record is called "Now Comes The Mystery"

1/7/11 12:01PM
new single "The Sacred And Profane" is being released in mid February. It sounds like this new record may be released pretty early in the year.

Hey Everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that our new single, "The Sacred And Profane", will be available through Itunes and Bandcamp on Tuesday, February 15th!! More details and direct links coming soon!!

Happy 2011!
S&S


--
www.myspace.com/soundandshape1

"The power trio Sound & Shape relies on more classic-rock stylings, and are shamelessly prog in their epic musings... The frontman has a great voice that matches the band's complex compositions, but there's good reason that the hype from Nashville is all about the rhythm section."

-By J.R. Taylor/Black&White (Birmingham, Al)

“For just three guys, Sound & Shape have a huge sound that seems to lack nothing except more attention and recognition. If bands like Queens of the Stone Age and Wolfmother can, it’s safe to say that Sound&Shape might be the next to hit it big.”

-By Jonathan Carabba/Submerge Magazine (Sacramento, Ca)

“...Sound&Shape aren’t dicking around trying to get you to bob your head. They’re there to blow your mind.”

-By Valerie Nutt/The Pulse (Murfreesboro, Tn)

“It's not hard to believe the band has been hard at work with hundreds of live shows from 2006 til today, but more incredible is their love for the music they've generated and developed. They are astonishing.”

-By - Di Francesco Amato/Long Live Rock N Roll (IT)

1/1/11 11:14PM


They just signed my last.fm page with this:

Hey Everyone! Please visit the OFFICIAL Sound&Shape last.fm page at http://www.last.fm/music/Sound%2526Shape !!!!Keep an eye out for NEW MUSIC in early 2011!!!!

So, that's certainly encouraging. Honestly, it almost reminds me of Bend Sinister a few years ago, with very little to no news after what I would have expected, would be something new. And then suddenly 1 day, they announced plans for a new album being released within a month.

I'm not certain this is what I recall seeing, but the news is similar if not the same. I read something about them working on a new album, even as far back as the summer of 2009 (and it may have even potentially come out in 2009, which it did not). But then of course they were included on my anticipation list for 2010. But I don't recall seeing much of anything about them on twitter, facebook or myspace.

But their "info" section on facebook says

In early 2010 the band returned to the studio, this time under the guidance of seasoned producer Matthew McCauley and Grammy award winning producer/engineer Casey Wood to tackle their most accessible and mature compositions to date. Armed with a wealth of new material, Sound&Shape have defined their mission: the best way to predict the future is to create it.

So, the Bend Sinister comparison, coming out of nowhere almost fits, given how quiet they were in 2010. I even wondered if they could be done/hiatus. Thankfully not, it appears.





2009's The Love Electric EP and 2007's Where Machines End Their Lives debut LP are both records I enjoy. In 2010 finally, really going back close to the time after getting into The Love Electric in 2009, got to hear WMETL thanks to a friend. And I do enjoy it, but probably rate TLE a bit higher. With that thinking, I'm definitely optimistic about this upcoming record. Hopefully some more fans will be made as a result, as I still feel this band should appeal to a much larger audience than they have (that I can tell) at this point. I'm not sure why, but as much as they have toured (220 shows in 2006, 170 shows in 2007 and 150+ shows in 2008), you'd think they wouldn't be lacking in exposure. But maybe it's not quantity, but being on the right tours/gaining exposure to the right fan bases, that could be holding them back at this point. Hopefully not for much longer.