Shapes and Sizes

It may be the power of association, but albums recorded at Montreal's Hotel2Tango have a certain gravitas to them. As Shapes and Sizes' animated 2007 sophomore release, Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner, was produced by Destroyer and New Pornographer favs JC/DC, the Victoria, BC quartet come off much more distant on Candle to Your Eyes, as songs like "You Don't Have to Drink From Here" and "Too Late for Dancing" see the band playing the role of jilted lover. Working with Hotel2Tango's 24-track tape machine, vocalist Caila Thompson-Hannant's achy delivery has an oak-aged quality; she comes off as completely fraught on "Time Has Practically Stopped" and "The Hit Parade." Candle to Your Eyes is a giant step forward for Shapes and Sizes, an album that favours substance and mood over chemistry and charisma, and then throws chemistry and charisma in there just for the hell of it.