Burning Shapes

These Things Happen
Friendly Tribe

If there’s a formula for producing a slick indie hit, British quartet Burning Shapes have got it mastered. Indeed, These Things Happen offers such a perfect balance of guitar rich up-tempo treats and mellow, laid-back melodiousness that it comes as a surprise to discover it’s their debut album.

What’s perhaps most impressive is the band’s resistance to overcomplicating their music; they know what pleases in their genre, and they stick to it like the beat of their infectious percussion. Consequently, overtones can be heard of indie big-hitters such as Razorlight, The Cribs and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, the latter particularly in Time Bomb. In the album’s more reflective moments, such as Lucky Few, there’s even a hint of Radiohead to be found.

Employing a simple verse-chorus-verse pattern across many of the tracks, and not shying away from a certain amount of repetition, These Things Happen easily achieves the objective of infiltrating its listener’s consciousness. Clever marketing in the form of a QR Code release can only serve to enhance this.

Visit www.burningshapes.com.

Grace Henderson