JC
Once upon a time, I scribed for Kerrang!, Rocksound and various other magazines. I would write about music just because I loved it. Such an uncomplicated and gorgeous time! These days, things are different – I find it almost impossible to talk about a favourite song without linking it to what I’m teaching in the classroom!
Sometimes, though, a band definitely does just deserve to be talked about, not because of the doorway they open to a deeper understanding of our A-Level texts but because they’re just too brilliant not to talk about! And such is the case with newshapes…
newshapes @ The Black Heart, Camden
On record, the Scottish four-piece sound like a mix of the best British outfits: Boston Manor, Holding Absence and Deaf Havana. Live, though, they transcend these influences. Even as such a young band, they clearly have their own identity, and the way they deliver track after track with a mix of confidence and humility is utterly affecting.
The band are not the finished product, but they are close. Their melodies are monolithic, and vocalist Ian Mann delivers them with both precision and power. The sound in Camden’s Black Heart may be muddy but that only makes the kaleidoscopic nature of every song on tonight’s setlist even more startling.
There is no doubt this quartet will make it onto much bigger stages – the sensation that we are seeing the next great rock group really is impossible to ignore. Already, newshapes are such a compelling live act, and in tracks like ‘wax’ and ‘because, I love you’ they have material that could actually have an impact way beyond the post-hardcore/alternative scene. The next genuinely thrilling UK band has arrived.
Check back for the classes that we will link to newshapes’ music in the future! Or follow here and you’ll be kept updated. In the meantime, if you love newshapes, have a look at our work with your other favourite artists: Holding Absence & Dead Pony.