Crooked Shapes – Crooked Shapes: A Review

Crooked Shapes release their new eponymous album on the 19th November 2021. Having formed in 2018 this trio from Berkshire say they provide a sound far bigger than you would expect. Well, let’s see if that’s true.

The Review

The album kicks off with an upbeat and bright song, Fire. Very much in the hard rock genre, this opening track sets up the album nicely, you get a real sense of the band from the first riff. The track itself is solid rather than spectacular, but it’s a great start.

The second track, Leave Me For Dead, has a weird guitar riff, which was a little jarring at first but I soon got into it. Again the track is solid and a decent tune to listen too.

By the third song, Appetite, I was getting very familiar with the style of Crooked Shapes. There is a feeling of The Black Crowes, Airbourne and Alter Bridge about them.

The fourth track, Crooked Shapes, opens up with a nice slower riff that has time to move and develop and shows a great deal of confidence. This is my track of the album and it makes my playlist.

 

There are moments in Chains In My Mind that are superb. I love the solo and how the drums change underneath the guitar with the bass providing that solid platform, it’s good. However, its the opening of that song that I really like. The first minute has a dark feeling, a feeling of almost dread. I like it.

The penultimate song, Fly, reminded me so much of Stone Temple Pilots mixed with Alice in Chains. I’m not sure if it was the guitar or the bass, but musically it sounds really good. It didn’t quite make my playlist but was damned close.

Conclusion

Based on this album, Crooked Shapes are a band that I feel you can depend on. You will know that what you’re going to get is some high quality, blues based hard rock.

For a debut album, this is really good. Count me as a fan.

Score 8.5/10

Track Listing

1. Fire 3.43
2. Leave Me For Dead 3.36
3. Appetite 4.06
4. Crooked Shapes 5.02
5. Chains In My Mind 4.42
6. Fallout 5.09
7. Rise Again 4.07
8. Fly 3.53
9. Don’t Look Back 6.04
   Label – Self Release
   Release – Release: 19 November 2021

   For all things Crooked Shapes, click HERE and to purchase the album, click HERE