Rating: 2 Pulses
Sound & Shape’s new album, Where Machines End Their Lives, can best be described as an acquired taste. A foreigner to their unique sound might be immediately turned off, but it is worth a listen for fans of classic and experimental rock.
Like a long car ride, one has to listen to the entire album a few times to get a full comprehension of where it will finally end up. The sum of the parts is more important than the individual songs. It is a concept album where each song builds on the other and you wait for it to lead into something fantastic. Although there is no grand finale, the lengthy instrumental pieces, reminiscent of a jam band, add an energetic live, concert sound.
Most notable on the album is the song “December,” which begins as an acoustic ballad and then leads right into, “Soldiers! Oh Soldiers!.” Songs like “Lovers Drink for Free” demonstrate some of the alternative instrumentation used in the album (in this song it is the cello). However, at times many of the songs sound very similar and it becomes very hard to differentiate between them.
Like the music itself, the lyrics on Where Machines End Their Lives have an alternative and poetic flavor. Since each song is a chapter or moment in a sequence of events or thoughts, they are continuations of observations, without conforming to lyrical standards. This can be both fun and a tad bit pretentious, but lead singer Ryan Oliver does a good job of keeping his vocals energetic, instead of whiny and overdone.
The production is not bad, but at times sounds as if it was recorded in a garage, but this actually adds a homegrown and raw rock flair. The band experiments with all kinds of sounds, and does not fall flat when it comes to their musical range and styling.
WMETL is a good effort in the quest for lively rock ’n’ roll, especially for listeners with the time and patience to give it more than one listen. It is also a successful example of local bands attempting genres outside of the norm.
You can catch Sound and Shape next at Wall Street on April 5.
