Crooked Shapes: Crooked Shapes

Reading, England based Crooked Shapes announce themselves with a self-titled debut that looks to combine the hard rock roots of the 70s and 80s with something a whole lot more 90s. It’s an interesting, if ever more prevalent approach, and one, it has to be said, that they do well. A three piece in nature, the band seem to revolve around guitarist and lead vocalist George Twydell, who actually has something of Kip Winger about his vocals. However with George ‘Ivesy’ Ives on bass and drummer Craig Carlaw building the foundations that allow Twydell to leap ever upwards, as well as adding some excellent backing vocals, it would be fair to suggest that all three play key roles in everything good about Crooked Shapes.

“Fire� opens proceedings and does so in quite some style, a vibe that lands somewhere between (stay with me here) Aerosmith and Soundgarden played out, and if there’s one moment where you truly believe that this trio can infuse the seriousness of 90s mainstream rock with something a whole lot more fun, then it is right here with Twydell showing real range and power. In truth, it’s this whole album’s highpoint and while there isn’t a foot really put wrong elsewhere on Crooked Shapes, it does leave the feeling of a downhill trajectory as you travel through the mid-paced angst-blues of “Attitude�, ever so Alice In Chains like “Chains In My Mind� (draw your own conclusions there…) and slightly more swaggering “Rise Again�.

Where things really do impress is through the way in which the threesome behind it all mesh so expertly, and in no way does this 45 minute or so offering feel like a band’s debut full length release, although, in fairness, an EP has proceeded it. That all said, what’s lacking, for me anyway, are some truly killer compositions. Yes, “Fire� is as incendiary as its name suggests and keeps you coming back to its flames for more. The problem is though, that the trick is never quite repeated and having that highpoint arrive so early does mean that as you get to know this release, so the temptation to hit the skip button proves quite difficult to resist. It is though early days for Crooked Shapes and there’s no doubt that they have the attributes to be major players in the updated 90s rock revival for some time to come. This self-titled debut, however, doesn’t quite deliver on its oh so obvious promise.

Track Listing
1.Fire
2.Leave Me For Dead
3.Appetite
4.Crooked Shapes
5.Chains In My Mind
6.Fallout
7.Rise Again
8.Fly
9.Don’t Look Back

Added: January 3rd 2022
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Crooked Shapes online
Hits: 505
Language: english

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