Bent Shapes: Feels Weird

I was instantly hooked on this album as track 1, “Behead Yrself Pt. 2,” jumps out as easily one of my favorite songs of the year. It’s one part Vampire Weekend and one part exuberant Muppet zaniness. It’s not to say the rest of the album sounds exactly like this song, but the breeziness, fun and outright pop bounce never really ebbs. Surprisingly, the album actually sounds really good in headphones, which certainly adds to their layered backing vocals and the bright guitar work’s vibrant quality. One song, “Brat Poison,” even echoes some of the more disjointed The Dismemberment Plan stuff, which is what it is, take it or leave it. Otherwise, the album is a little schizophrenic, but not necessarily in a bad way. More like that spazzy friend of yours who you love despite all his faults because it’s so damn excellent to just listen to him talk. I have high hopes for their next effort, whichever way they decide to go. But hopefully it’ll veer away from some of the little millennial quips they throw in at the end of the album that made me want to slap their silly asses.