Not so long after their initial presentation here on IDIOTEQ, Minneapolis band Unstable Shapes are back with their debut full-length album Delicate Machinery, available today via Learning Curve Records.
Clocking in at 38 minutes, the record channels personal and social dislocation into a dense, sharp-edged sound produced by Knol Tate (Kill Sadie, Askeleton, Deleter).
Formed after a 2019 Massive Attack concert, the project began when vocalist Andrew Cahak and guitarists Mitch Gustafson and Ryan Jaroscak left the show with more than just post-show buzz.
They brought in bassist Kevin Hurley (also of the Great Went) in early 2020, just before the pandemic brought momentum to a halt.
During COVID-19 isolation, the four stayed loosely in touch, but the band remained incomplete until Cahak invited drummer James Taylor (Laamar) onto his podcast in spring 2021. That conversation turned into a collaboration.
The album’s sound reflects that fractured origin.
It’s a collision of post-punk tension and emotional volatility, with angular guitar lines, tight rhythmic undercurrents, and bursts of noise that feel almost sculptural.
Unstable Shapes describe their work as “noisy songs about disappointment and romance,” with themes circling self-discovery and self-deception. “Doubt, regret, and existential angst” shape the narrative arc of Delicate Machinery, and it shows in the contrasts — the tracks swing between “thunderous and pretty, violent but tender,” as the band puts it.
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The band is tight-lipped about post-release plans, but shows are lined up to support the album, starting with a release gig on April 11 at Zhora Darling in Minneapolis. They’ve also been announced for this year’s Caterwaul Festival.
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The cover art, designed by Cahak, mirrors the lyrical mood. “The figures in each image might fit into their environment but, as colored silhouettes, they don’t necessarily belong,” he explains. “They are in the world but not of it.”
Delicate Machinery is available on streaming platforms and as a translucent red vinyl limited to 250 copies.
