Relatively speaking, the Wrong Shapes have had a pretty lazy 2016.
After releasing nine singles over the course of last year, and coming very close to becoming one of the only bands to ever make due on their New Year’s promise of one new song per month over a 12-month period, the Medford cello-pop duo has finally given us a new track for this year. “So, yeah, we slacked a little this winter,” admits guitarist/vocalist Bo Barringer in an email to Vanyaland.
But it’s all worth the wait. “Falling Back Into Bad Habits” is another quirky, off-kilter pop track that feels like it was conceived during closed-eyes scavenger hunt through Frank Zappa’s bathroom. There’s a gentle texture to the song, a nice consistent quality in most of the Wrong Shapes’ material, and the cello and electronic elements dance with ease around each other. And it reminds us a bit of last year’s yearning alt-ballad “You Taste Like Water”, which held up as one of our faves of ’16.
Maybe “Falling Back Into Bad Habits” will lead the Wrong Shapes back into the habit of releasing a new song every month, or maybe not. Either way, this should hold us over for a bit.