Sweeping The Nation
Sensations
Listen To My Shapes
(Camera)
Former Mother Hips and Cake members gang up on psych rock floater.
“Why not take a little trip with one who’s tried?” Greg Loiacono asks on “Incredible Man,” as if his and his bandmates’ pedigrees are commonly associated with the word “pioneering.” But no matter what you think of their old associations, *Listen To My Shapes* is loaded with sumptuous pieces of Byrdsy and Big Star-lit sky. The potsmoke haze can be a trifle much on “Winds Of Emotion” — there’s little genuine folksy appeal on the 11 cuts — but for once “ba-da-bas” don’t have to be associated with cheeky power pop. Sounding like a tenderized Alex Chilton and Art Garfunkel hybrid, Loiacono’s vocals are disarmingly pure and haunting. The only wasted space is the title track, a sore-thumb homage to early-’90s Sebadoh.
— Steve Forstneger
