Indie Light

newshapes is a Glasgow based pop infused post harcore trio made up of Ian Mann, Troy Hopkins and Logan Whyte. Today, I’ll be reviewing their EP ‘i hope this finds you’ which was released October 20th 2023.

‘foreverend’ kicks off with soft ambient tones that explode into a cacophonous frenzy of phenomenal strings and percussion, absolutely hammering their way forward. The powerful instrumental breaks just enough for the vocals to blend in, and they are superb. I’m not sure whether I like the solo vocals more, or the powerful harmony of the voices working together. Regardless this is an amazing opening track from a band I literally just came across last week, and who I’m already ride or die for. But seriously though, I like to be positive with these reviews but I’m also honest, and I can honestly say I am absolutely astounded by the quality, the intensity and the raw talent of the group. 

‘wandering’ slows things down a touch, less frenzy but just as much technical skill. I think the slightly more subdued melodic structure gives the instrumentals as individual elements greater opportunity to stand out, and they do throughout. Equally the vocals are superb, as someone who is absolutely incapable of screamo, or any sort of projected vocals like this I am in awe. The horns, which I believe were electronic, really added something as well. I’m a big fan of esoteric musical elements and this blend of hard punk/rock infused classic instrumentals and then alto sax really worked for me. 

‘glass’ is another stellar performance, it kicks things off hard, heavy percussion leading the charge before melding together with the core instrumental fusion. I am just so blown away by the harmonious chaos of these talented musicians working together. I love the heavy, almost overbearing beat, and the vocals thrashing against them, it’s all power and intensity and yet there balance throughout, showing a level of sophistication to their composition.

‘because, i love you’ starts off slow again, sonorous tones that lead into tight percussive fills, which build and develop. I think because its relatively stripped back compared to some of the other entries on this EP you can really feel the vocalists, but I think this has some of the strongest vocals on the release, but honestly it’s pretty much too close to tell, as every single track has been a singular construct of significant skill and effort than I don’t think I could even select a favourite among these four tracks. What I will say though, is that I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the band in the future. 

So that’s what I thought of newshapes EP ‘i hope this finds you’ which you can check out over on Spotify. While you’re at it, make sure to support the band by following them on Facebook and Instagram.