THE IMPOSSIBLE SHAPES
Horus
Secretly Canadian
· Dungeons and dragons.
I’ve got a soft spot for something I like to call ride-the-dragon music. You know, records so grandiose and completely over-the-top with their sprawling songs about the afterlife, witchcraft and crystal balls. Bands where you can envision the lead singer holding onto their microphone while riding on the back of a dragon (i.e. The Mars Volta, Iron Maiden).
Indiana may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about pagan rituals, but it is home to The Impossible Shapes. The band has made a softer and gentler soundtrack for the gates of hell (their fifth album is named after The Eye Of Horus, an Egyptian symbol used for protection and sight into the underworld, for Pete’s sake!).
Horus doesn’t have stacks of amps or blood-curdling screams, but rather a psych-folk feel not unlike Pink Floyd. It’s an old-fashioned concept record, with songs that build slowly and stick to a thought-out plan. Singer Chris Barth’s voice sounds a lot like holy-roller Daniel Smith (Danielson Famile), but instead of writing songs about good Christian soldiers, Barth sings about the dark side of the moon.
The album is consistently mellow and low-key, except for one surprising exception. "Survival" is a song that comes out of left field and breaks out into a glittery, vintage-Bowie jam. With whirling organs and diffused guitar melodies (not to mention two song titles with the word "demon" in them), it’s hard not to be tempted to play the album backwards and examine the cover art for the number of the beast.
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