London band Landshapes stir a pot of alt-folk, psychedelic and math-rock. Consequently, the beauty of their third album is not knowing what’s going to happen next. After a flurry of shows to support the release of their second album, Heyoon, back in that fondly remembered mythical age of touring and live performance, they regrouped to produce something more succinct and pop-orientated, while still offering a beguiling and highly entertaining album.
Dan, Heloise, Jemma and Luisa are great at shifting sonic gears from one track to the next, or even several times within one song. In less capable hands, this kitchen sink approach could be the kiss of death, but Landshapes utilise it with fluidity as their calling card and greatest strength.
Opener Rosemary features quivering vocals and sounds like Neil Young force-fed into an avant-garde electronica blender. Siberia lets loose a terrific riff and great harmonies. Relationships come under the microscope on The Ring. Heloise Tunstall-Behrens notes that this rumination on marriage evolved into a feeling of connection with the world and non-human species, or, as she puts it, “a partnership upon which we tend to rely and take for granted but don’t appreciate all the time”.
Guitar music is currently regarded as something of a faded genre. Fontaines DC and Idles took up most of the headlines this year with their respective versions of its revival, but under-the-radar artists such as Hey Colossus and Landshapes are determinedly moulding it into exciting new shapes and sounds.
