SHAPERS Take Us To 'Pierce Islands'

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 6, 2014 7:20PM

Photo credit: Joe Carsello

SHAPERS has only been around a few years but its members have been making music in one configuration or another for over a decade. Steve Reidell is probably the groups best known member due to his work as one half of The Hood Internet. Yet Reidell and Zaid Maxwell (also in Oscillator Bug) have been making music together since 2002, when they formed May Or May Not and Amelia Styer joined shortly after that. Todd Waters joined as May Or May Not finally left the pop side of their music behind and fully transformed into SHAPERS.

We make mention of all this because a band would need a long history to be able to pull off the musical shenanigans SHAPERS does on their new double album, Pierce Islands. These are more tumultuous movements of sounds than cohesive songs and the band seems to work telepathically, as they navigate seemingly impossible changes and stitch together music that sounds as if it's coming from four different dimensions. Take "LH Arms" for example, a song that hits about halfway through the new LP. As the drums drive and gallop in circular beats they constantly dart this way and that with tumbling fills. The guitars crash back and forth against this rhythm and synthesizers call in from distant galaxies as they bleep and blorp in and out of the whole swirling mixture. And beneath all the chaos, a slow and steady build of lower tones work to keep the whole thing from flying off a cliff. Like we said, just another typical song in the SHAPERS catalog.

Of course the more frenetic stuff like that is tempered by quiet moments of reflection, like the song that follows "Tailchase," as it balances subtle static with an oscillating tone that feels as if aliens are trying to make contact through an RCA 621TS television set. Slowly a celestial harmony builds against it and cymbals swirl and build, slowly creating a thrumming backdrop for slowly un-twirling guitars to flow against.

If this all sounds a little overwhelming, it is, and in the best way. Pierce Islands is a subversive experience, and it's something you want to get lost in. But wait, there's more! The band has brought on a new member, Matt Weber, and he's created a feature length film to accompany the album. It was screened a while ago at the 2014 CIMM Fest and while it's not available for further public consumption yet it will be released later this year. Perhaps some of the visuals will make it into SHAPERS' album release show tomorrow night at The Burlington though, when they celebrate the public unveiling of Pierce Islands at The Burlington with Touched By A Ghoul (who are absolutely amazing and a MUST see as well) and Get Off The Cross.

SHAPERS, Touched By Ghoul and Get Off The Cross play Thursday, August 7, at The Burlington, 3425 W Fullerton, 9 p.m. $5, 21+