|
Over the years, I have developed a philosophy on what makes any
musical project an album. The first requirement I have for any album, which I
will admit is more psychological than rational, is that the release
must contain at least nine tracks. However I have to give Shapes
Stars Make a pass on that since their eight-track long debut album,
These Mountains Are Safe, clocks in at a satisfying forty six minutes.
The second requirement is that an album must have lyrics to over half
their songs. Now this too is also not without some exception since we
have seen an artist like Andy Hunter produce quite an impressive
album with many instrumental or near instrumental tracks. However,
the moody indie rock sound of Shapes Stars Make is a far cry from
Hunter's fun, upbeat techno-dance music.
The lack of lyrics on The Mountains Are Safe are particularly
damaging because the three tracks which feature words are, by and
large, the most memorable on the project. The indie fueled music
sounds very passive and oftentimes takes too long to engage the
listener. For example, the first, and one of the more enjoyable songs
on the release, "Giant Bird" is repetitive over the course of six and
half minutes and is slow to develop its instrumental tune. After the
second track concludes uneventfully, the album's highlight, "(We Are)
The Hurting" begins. But, lead-singer Michael Gooden's similarly
laid-back vocals fail to engage the listener effectively. Even the
intense guitar-driven stanza, which seems to be building to an
unforgettable climactic ending, is disappointing because of its
abrupt and empty finish. Some fierce electric guitars will spark some
interest on "Fireflies and Lights," but the rest of the album is
thoroughly uneventful, bordering on monotonous. One bright side is
that the songs do encourage star gazing along with awareness for the
lonely and hurting.
Much of These Mountains Are Safe is melodic indie rock, but
throughout the lengthy songs, the music starts to blend leaving one to
only wonder what a few more days in the studio might have produced.
Casting album criteria aside, we are left with a dry, relatively
unappealing album which lacks diversity and lyrics. Those who want
some good instrumental background music sound should skip Shapes
Stars Make's debut and spin their favorite film soundtrack instead.
- Review date: 1/15/10, written by Nathaniel Schexnayder of Jesusfreakhideout.com
|
 |
|
|
Shapes Stars Make is a fresh face to the scene, bringing post-rock goodness to the
masses. Pulling references from bands like Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You, and The Sailor Sequence,
SSM's beauty lies within guitar hooks and massively reverberated melodies instead of choruses and bridges.
Their full length debut, These Mountains Are Safe-- produced by Explosions in the Sky engineer John
Congleton-- is eight tracks of pure atmosphere. Mostly instrumental, the album is forceful, but quiet; technical,
but always bordering on chaos. Ironically, the only low points in These Mountains Are Safe seem to be in
the group's few vocals, which are quite haunting but neither catchy nor convincing. Overlooking this fact,
however, is not difficult in the least considering the rest of the album's unique nature. While Shapes Stars
Make may not yet encompass the reputation and audacity of their aforementioned counterparts, they are certainly
on the right track... and you will certainly hear of them again soon.
- Garrett DeRossett of Jesusfreakhideout.com
|
|
|
Record Label: Dreamt Music
