Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
Bent Shapes and the Art of Feeling Weird
Bent Shapes has strong connections to the band’s hometown of Boston and the music community there. Listening to the record almost drops you right into the streets, brick buildings everywhere and rats scurrying around corners. They’re the kids that worked behind the counter of the local thrift store, hocking treasures and oddities from lost decades. Or the kids in the coffee shop that you recognize from the basement show the night before and that you have a supremely awkward conversation with, almost as if “Fight Club” rules applied. However, they’re just the same type of socially clumsy dudes that embody the title of their debut LP, Feels Weird.
The project began with guitarist Ben Potrykus writing songs under the name of Girlfriends. The trio, including Supriya Gunda on bass and Andy Sadoway on drums, teamed up (oddly enough) through musical basements and working at thrift stores. On Feels Weird, they all share the microphone with each member singing at least one song. For a few years now, the group has been consistently releasing solid EPs and singles on cassettes and vinyl. Their debut Girlfriends cassette was a group of songs that complemented each other well, recorded in a more lo-fi style that really lent itself to the content of those particular songs. A few of their singles were released as flexible vinyl 7″ discs–translucent squares that appear as if the manufacturer forgot to pop the record out that can be flexed in half (or maybe it’s better to say it could be bent in a plethora of shapes).
Monday, August 05, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
2012(ish) Boston Finds to Keep an Eye On
Below the jump are tons of bandcamp embeds for some of the stuff from Boston from 2012 that I've been exploring. Thanks to Boston Hassle and Allston Pudding.
Bent Shapes
The Woodrow Wilsons
Hands and Knees
Dawn Fauna
TOMBOY
Camp Island
Polaroids
Earthquake Party
Potty Mouth
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Bent Shapes :: Panel of Experts 7" :: The Best 12/12/12 Present Ever
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Until now.
Boston's Bent Shapes have a new release that makes the perfect 12/12/12 present that you've surely been tearing your hair out trying to find. It's their second in what will hopefully be an onslaught of 7" flexi vinyl singles and EPs. A flexi is a vinyl that's so thin, you can bend it nearly in half. The group released one earlier in May too, that you can listen to here. The image below is from that EP.
The new 7" is "Panel of Experts" between "Bites and Scratches." The latter track is also from the band's "Girlfriends" days. It appeared on a demo before they changed their name. Both of the single's songs are freshly recorded and feature some of the group's cleanest recordings yet. Although I personally think the band sounds better dirty, lo-fi, and overdriven, these recordings are well done. "Bites and Scratches" features some majestic backing vocals from bassist Supriya Gunda.
The release is exciting, because it means we're getting even closer to the band's debut LP.
Get the 7" here.
bentshapes.bandcamp.com
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Spring/Summer 2012 8tracks
I meant to make a mix for each season, but I forgot all about it due to my travels in Budapest, Prague, and Berlin. So, here's a recap spring and summer mix. The photo is the sunrise outside of Berghain in Berlin.
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