Bent Shapes are one of Boston’s most comfortably ubiquitous bands. They’ve headlined both clubs and basements, they’ve opened for Ted Leo in somebody’s living room, they’ve shared stages with legends like the Descendents... they’re everywhere, but that doesn’t equate to oversaturation. Vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Ben Potrykus’ sharply literate post-punk-pop songs and the band’s buzzy live energy render that ubiquity in the Boston scene a most welcome thing. The sizeable crowd that turned out to Great Scott for the band’s record release show on Thursday night (March 10) would seem to affirm that sentiment.
Wolves of Want is Bent Shapes’ second proper LP, and the Slumberland Records release delivers plenty of the band’s hook-y brilliance over its half-hour runtime. The band ran through much of its tracklist on Thursday night, along with setlist staples from 2013’s Feels Weird and a cover by late-'70s Boston post-punk obscurities The 2x4s. With plenty of friends and supporters in the crowd, the atmosphere was loose and celebratory, but the band sounded as tight and focused as ever song to song. The current lineup, featuring longtime member Andy Sadoway on drums and more recent additions in bassist/backing vocalist Jenny Mudarri and guitarist Luke Brandfon, played with a propulsive bounce in its step. Potrykus, with unmistakable lipstick pickup modified Jazzmaster in hand, took charge of each song with a balance of the wry and the earnest. The new songs weren’t entirely unfamiliar if one has caught Bent Shapes elsewhere in the past year or so, but this set was an excellent proper premiere for Wolves.
For opening duties, the band enlisted the intermittently active projects of a few friends.
“I force them to play shows,” Potrykus joked about reclusive Cambridge quartet Cuffs, who were up first. Their jangly and melancholy-tinged songs, driven by a pair of offset-waist Fender guitars, hearkened back to Feelies and Dream Syndicate reference points, which are good ones to have (that the PA began playing Crazy Rhythms immediately following their set felt like no coincidence).
Sports, formed in Ohio but hailing “not really from anywhere in particular” according to guitarist/vocalist Carmen Perry, followed up with a more caffeinated counterpoint. Their uptempo, anthemic garage-pop tunes charmed, and bridged the evening’s lineup nicely. It was a well-rounded affair start to finish, and a fitting way to welcome Bent Shapes’ latest to the world.
All photos by Ben Stas for Vanyaland. Follow him on Twitter @Ben_Stas.
