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Crooked Shapes - Crooked Shapes
Album review by; Accidental Music Reviewer
Crooked Shapes, the hard rocking power trio from Reading, Berkshire release their highly anticipated self-titled debut album on 19th November 2021.
This fearless threesome have been making waves since their 2019 EP “Fallout” was released. They are now back with a bang with this truly stunning album featuring their own blend of carefully crafted and profound sounding heavy rock.
Crooked Shapes’ sound is a pedigree hybrid of bluesy, heavy rock from the seventies complemented with edgy grunge and modern alt-rock. These guys appear to have walked into the studio and created the perfect storm of the best styles and genres from the rock n’ roll pantheon and spat out this smouldering album of hard rocking delights for dedicated and die hard rock fans to gorge on just before Christmas.
Opening track “Fire” is a blissful, joyous cacophony of classic rock magnificence tempered with powerful grungy guitars. I have said this before about some of the amazing rock trios on the scene at the moment and Crooked Shapes are definitely no exception. This is another band who incredibly makes more sound than three people should be able to produce. This record is a sonic assault of hard rocking grooviness you are excited to be on the receiving end of.
This band’s canon of musical styles, influences and references has been mixed, twisted and reshaped to provide an astonishing, highly effective and utterly satisfying blend of rock that is destined to make a crucial impact on the grass roots scene.
Crooked Shapes have taken the raw and melodic beauty of classic seventies rock like Free and Bad Company and added grunge and alternative touches from Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. Let's be honest this band are not the only ones taking this approach. Some of the hottest new bands on the scene such as Florence Black, Hollowstar, Electric Black and Caesar Did It are producing similar, incredible music and now Crooked Shapes are about to take their own well deserved place on this amazing plateau of hard rock.
The musicianship of all three band members is truly outstanding. If this album is just the lighting of the fuse, then we could be in store for one hell of a firework display for many years to come.
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George Twydwell plays his guitar with passion, verve and feeling. Coupled with his soulful, bluesy voice, he is a double threat. His vocal range is impressive. His voice can be melodic and tender one moment, then when required he can wail like any rock god out there with crystal clarity and hard hitting emotion. In short, he is the ideal front man for this specific band.
The rhythm section is not mucking about either. Bassist George “Ivesy” Ives lays down some memorable and creative bass lines. He can play heavy pounding metal like grooves and then throw in some curveball parts normally associated with post-punk hardcore players like Mike Watt or Greg Norton.
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Drum Nuts will fawn over the playing from Craig Carlaw. He plays his kit with swing, passion and acute skill. He sounds to me like he is channelling his inner Ian Paice of Deep Purple or Ginger Baker of Cream on some of the tracks.
What is there not to love about this amazing album? There are no filler tracks here at all. It just cannons along like a runaway freight train, giving you no choice but to jump on, cling to whatever you can and enjoy one hell of an exhilarating ride.
Rock fans of all ages and musical persuasions really need this record in their collections. It has everything genuine rock fans love about the genre. These songs are not just formulaic rock numbers, they each have lots going on beneath the surface. The more you listen, the more you discover and the deeper you entwine yourself with this album and this band.
Lyrically the songs are intense, emotional and meaningful. They analyse human feelings, highs and lows. There are lots of references to mental health and the daily struggles we all have to face at some time in our lives.
Trying to pick out favourite or stand out tracks is very, very hard with this album. I know a lot of you will not let me get away with saying that all of these songs are great, even though that statement is indeed true. What I will say is that the two songs that bookend the album; Opener “Fire” and final track “Don’t Look Back” are phenomenal and they are both in the perfect place on the track listing. These are two hard hitting, emotional and wholly entertaining songs in different ways. “Appetite” and “Fly” are also worthy of honourable mentions amongst a very strong field.
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This is a truly great debut album, so much so, I now have no choice but to rip up my list of Top Ten albums of 2021 to make room for Crooked Shapes. As we are now in mid-November, I was convinced that my list was complete. Thanks a bunch Guys!
I’ve listened to this album a few times now and I have no other way to go but to award “Crooked Shapes” my first ever 5 out of 5. That’s right. It really is That Good.
Official Website: https://www.crookedshapes.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crookedshapes @crookedshapes
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvW7u8pjPepNtl6ffmsxUhQ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crookedshapes @crookedshapes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/crookedshapes @crookedshapes
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