INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

The Impossible Shapes

Secretly Canadian
Four and a half stars

It’s about time Bloomington’s The Impossible Shapes got around to titling their record with a glyph, a possible though unlikely shape. Chris Barth’s mystical, pagan, occasionally addled lyrics (“Let the mushroom teach”) recall another band fond of glyphs, Led Zeppelin, and the legacy of British folk rock (as well as lo-fi indie rock and psych-pop) is prominent in the band’s sound. “Stop making excuses and babies, make art,” Barth proclaims on “Make Art,” and on the prolific band’s seventh release, they follow their own directive with another batch of nourishing, passionate rock.

Sounds like: The Incredible String Band, Guided by Voices