Here is a new one from Shapes, Montreal's post-punk outfit. Minos kicks off with a zigzagging synth-line that plants a wrong-footing signpost into a sonic labyrinth of smoke and mirrors. However, robustly guided by the chugging bass, the illusion quickly falls away and a steady, muscular tune is revealed. It is like a recipe producing a different flavour to what you were expecting. Toss in classic sparky guitars à la Killing Joke, maybe even a hint of Adam & The Antz, add a more recent splash of Editors’ commercial readiness, and you’ve got a cocktail of existential angst served with a pleasing dancefloor twist.
Born from the minds of Alex “Speechless” Savard and Trevor Bushey, this track didn’t just light the band’s fuse, it was the spark. There’s pop sensibility buried under poetic gloom, like a pogo in a library. Bushey’s vocals muse on futility with “the fruit never flowers”, a line so bleak it should come with a cup of tea and a hug.
Dark yet danceable, arty yet accessible, Minos proves Shapes aren’t just mucking about, they’re carving new angles. Bull-headed brilliance, with a taste you can actually get lost in. Well worth a punt.