Shapes and Sizes carried a heavy but unlikely burden on their self-titled debut album: They had too many melodies, and their best ones were lost in the bustle. Each song set off in numerous directions, leaving the listener with that muddled feeling of flipping through too many channels, opening too many IM windows, or leaving bookmarks in too many books. The eight months between their debut and Split Lips, Winning Hips, a Shiner has given Shapes and Sizes time to streamline their songs, hone in on the best parts of their jumbled structures, and embellish those parts with engaging instrumentation, dynamic vocals, and smart lyrics. The stylistic shifts are still here-- they're just less jarring now-- and on the whole, the band seems to be paying closer attention to songcraft.
From leadoff track "Alone/Alive", it's apparent that keyboardist and co-vocalist Caila Thompson-Hannant has improved as a singer: She deftly navigates loud/soft, elated/depressed dynamics, and not just on this song. And while the boasts and hyperbole of their self-titled LP are still present, Thompson-Hannant tempers her shouts with whispers and moans, all of which melds beautifully with the blustery chaos and slight dissonance that colors the opener.
What makes Split Lips rise above similar albums is its ability to inflate small portions of songs into mini-showcases for, say, a few great bars of percussion ("Head Movin'"), gameshow synths ("Geese"), or pubescent cracks, shrieks, and hisses ("Can't Stop That (Sinking) Feeling"). That amplification comes in handy on "The Taste in My Mouth": Slower, shorter, and more mournful than most S&S songs, its verses hint at domestic abuse and self-mutilation. Elegiac trumpets and a nervous tick on a single guitar string add to the tension. "I'll suck my fingers until they're dry and numb/ And all the pain is in the taste in my mouth," Thompson-Hannant whispers meticulously, as if she's prepared to catch her words between her lips before they escape.
Guitarist and co-vocalist Rory Seydel still plays the straight man to his female counterpart's brashness. However, in "Can't Stop That (Sinking) Feeling", he briefly breaks free from his indie rock grumble: During the song's Sea and Cake-esque guitar progression, he repeats "As I grow old!" until Thompson-Hannant enters, backing up his anguish. Their frequent vocal interplay, combined with their loss-of-innocence lyrics, could get them mistaken for Rainer Maria. But Shapes and Sizes aren't all heart-on-sleeve declarations; they balance every weighty proclamation with humor, and-- imagine-- actually sound like they're having fun.
In fact, most songs here travel a range of emotions, but sadly some are sketches that could have been tacked onto other songs or relegated to B-Sides and tour EPs . "Grassy Corner, a Sunset" and "Canvas Skies, Muslin Trees", both ramblers, share so much but add up to so little. These missteps pass quickly, though. For the most part, Split Lips is a statement of newfound confidence that finds Shapes and Sizes growing without sacrificing their infectious, guileless innocence. Each repeat listen reveals new tunnels through the band's complex of melody and sound, and each turn feels new and untrodden.
