The fourth album from Nashville rock trio Sound & Shape features a dozen hard and progressive rock tunes that all make for a good listen from the soft opening symphonic title piece to closing acoustic “Peace In Destruction” (largely instrumental). Between those 2 short pieces there’s some excellent riffs, rockers, acoustic guitars…. Best tracks include “Is A Wilted Rose Still Red” (great riff, and changes throughout this one), the fairly hard rockin’ “Don’t Make Me Make Believe” (another cool lead intro), and the summertime ballad “Sun Haired Sky Mother”. Lots of light and shade throughout the songs.
Love the cover-art btw! For fans of Porcupine Tree, King’s X, A Perfect Circle, Steven Wilson, The Pineapple Thief…. Check out the clips, the press info, and the links below!
Sound & Shape isn’t just any band, though, and with their latest LP – ‘Pillars of Creation’ – they’ve set a whole new benchmark not only for themselves, but for the genre as a whole. Recorded in just eight days at their Nashville home studio alongside Grammy-winning producer/engineer “Greazy” Wil Anspach (Metallica, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Killer Mike), the grippingly affective and symphonic opening title track symbolizes how the sequence finds frontman/songwriter Ryan Caudle, drummer Ben Proctor, and bassist Pat Lowry taking listeners on an even more impactful, cohesive, and ambitious ride.
From the adventurous arrangements and daring complexities of “Look For Me in the Sky” and “Is a Wilted Rose Still Red?” to the sing-along folk splendor of “Peace in Destruction”; the majestic lusciousness of “Sun Haired Sky Mother”; and the fierce changeups of “Dance Neath the Fairest Moon,” Pillars of Creation ups the ante by fusing the group’s already winning chemistry with a double dose of the baroque/prog rock sophistications of The Dear Hunter, Dirt Poor Robins, and The Reign of Kindo.
Beyond being Sound & Shape’s magnum opus, Pillars of Creation is an awe-inspiringly meaningful and multifaceted journey that’s destined to be hailed as one of 2024’s greatest albums.
Outsider Rock 