Having already been tipped by the likes of Steve Lamacq and XFM'S Claire Sturgess, THE NEW SHAPES will surely be grubbing around in the column inches of an NME near you within the next few weeks.
But try not to let that put you off, because their debut single is a good, old-fashioned blast of enthusiasm-fuelled pop produced with a typical lack of pretension by Liam 'man in the white coat' Watson at the infamous, 50s-tastic Toe Rag Studios in London's East End.
And yes, before you pre-empt me, the East End reference is significant enough, because The New Shapes bring a trebly, lippy and slightly fragile punk pop sound with "You've Got Me Running Around" that's not a kazillion miles away from the likes of The Paddingtons. Yet somehow there's something a lot less mannered about the Fall-thrash-the-Buzzcocks guitars and Mark Roberts' snotty, yet crestfallen voice that helps to set them apart. Indeed, the more you hear this song, even the details - like the way Watson has mixed it so the snare hammers right down the middle - snag you in all the right places. And when the little details fall into place then you know you're onto something.
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Flipside "A Song About A Girl" (there's a novelty, eh?) is OK too. With compressed vocals and with tinges of both Mod and the Buzzcocks' automatic-fuzz guitars thrusting their heads over the parapet, this one merely reinforces the fact that while ver Shapes may not exactly be heaving fresh moves all over the shop, they have suss and vitality on their side.
Which, all things considered, is still something to encourage.
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