When Shapes and Sizes self-titled debut came into the Willamette Week office, I thought Id give it a try based entirely on the bands label, Asthmatic Kitty. The association with Asthmatic Kitty puts Shapes and Sizes in the company of critical darling Sufjan Stevens, and, being that Arts & Crafts is another label I admire from Canada, I figured there must be something in the Canadian bacon that inspires great indie pop.
I liked a few songs alright, but I was suspicious about how this album of erratic, formless but somehow compelling arty rock would translate on stage. Islands Gone Bad, the opening track, is one of the best first songs Ive heard this year. Its like two songs in one: First, theres the slow and dreamy intro led by lead guitarist Rory Seydel, then the light-hearted, I like eating fruit off of trees vocal romp of leadwoman Caila Thompson-Hannant. It has perfect handlcaps and a fluid movement unaffected by convention that struck me as unique: This weird Canadian band has got me excited about indie rock again.
I headed out to Dantes last Thursday to see if the Vancouver, B.C. quartet could pull off such complex pop charm in a live setting. The venues seats were completely filled by the time Shapes and Sizes went onin the middle of a bill that included the Listening and headliners Crosstide. The ultra-charming Caila Thompson-Hannant played various guitars and wailed on the keys. Her voice was simply captivating. Her vocals are what struck me the most about the bands debut LP, and she didnt disappoint in person.
Shapes and Sizes were loud, though, which worried me at first. Bands that are herky-jerky and a bit experimental can be an ear-soar on stage, especially coupled with feedback and/or a singer who cant really belt it out. I would have this same apprehension about, say, Animal Collective, Deerhoof, or Gang Gang Dancearty indie rock on the verge of being unlistenable. But Caila somehow keeps it fun and listener-friendly. Watching her being forced to scream louder and louder, or higher and higher for her freak-out on Goldenhead, for instance, created an arresting smile-effect. Despite what I saw as possible obstacles, this band stunned me.
Sometimes Caila would step away from her keyboard and switch with the other primary vocalist and guitar shredder, Rory Seydel, so that she could have more space in front of a mic. And those were the best moments. When she really shouted, strummed as hard as she could, or squinted with effort to be heard, those times made me want to listen to the bands album pretty much all the time and see Shapes and Sizes play live whenever possible.
I was able to scribble one lyric from the song Wilderness. Ill share it as an indication of their lyrical persuasion: We come from the wilderness /We come bearing gifts for you /We happen to like the city /We happen to like you, too /Kisses are our friends, my friend /And I know a lot about them. Theyre a bit comic, romantic and, yes, Canadian. These northern neighbor pop outfits (Broken Social Scene, Stars, Feistall Arts & Crafts bands) manage to churn out lyrics that are emotionally charged but almost always in a non-descript, not too bitter and not too sweet way. After charming me with those words, the band members whistled: Yeah, made my heart swell a little.
Nobodyexcept myself and present companystood in front of the stage for Shapes and Sizes set. I guess Crosstide has quite a following in Portland, though. There was some mild clapping and woooooing after Shapes and Sizes songs, but it seemed like most of the crowd was just waiting for the headliner. Everybody was sitting, behind the tables or at the bar. Caila made a comment about the crowds relative low energy at one point and said something about Canadians drinking beer. At this point the bassist snapped open a can of something beer-like into his microphone. His fellow bandmates got a big laugh out of this, but Dantes patrons were not amused. Granted, Shapes and Sizes may not be a crowd-up-at-the-front-freaking-out rock band, but when Crosstide took the stage, a flock of thirty-somethings crowded between the tables and the stage to get a good spot for the bands bland guitar-rock.
Anything but bland, Shapes and Sizes is unlike a lot of other bands out there, and its debut is a good sign of things to come. Even if Shapes and Sizes doesnt put out another sick album anytime soon, at least the band has offered a sweet taste of Canadian indie pop to hold us. A few moments from the show stuck with me afterwards: namely Cailas freak and shriek, I like eating fruit off of trees, and a few high energy apexes. Shapes and Sizes light that spark of thinking youve discovered a secret that you want to share; it makes you change your mind about something you thought you already knew. Oras a girl named Talia explains on the bands websitelistening to Shapes and Sizes inspires the same kind of feeling you had when you realized that tomatoes were a fruit and not a vegetable.
Read Talias full entry (from www.shapesandsizes.ca) here:
Few people live and breathe categorization, save for biologists and librarians, but it is essential to our understanding of the world In their day-to-day life, Shapes and Sizes enjoy order, neatness, and organization as much as any celibate dormouse librarian But their music is a different story, its a tasty mash up. Its a whale with wings and a tomato that tastes like a strawberry. Shapes and Sizes wrote the melody that apexes in your brain when you were told for the first time that a tomato was really a fruit and that everything youve ever believed with certainty was a lie.
No comments:
Post a Comment