Eight years is just drop of pig’s blood in the bucket, and this September is prom night for Sound and Shape. The band’s fourth album, “Bad Actors” will be released the 23rd of this month, and signifies a band weathering several years to hit their stride. They’ve teamed up with accomplished prodcers Matthew MCauley and Casey Wood to create something with such abnormally high levels of prog that it would be a disaster in less accomplished hands. Luckily the band’s tendency to temper some of the heavier thrashing with a sense of urgency and a very rock’n’roll bird-flip to tradition makes it very easy to listen through an album and reach for the next. There’s little doubt that "Bad Actors" will be more of the same. Artistdirect premiered their video for single “Venus” this Tuesday, and while we would have loved to see vocalist Ryan Caudle’s vision for a “three-part space opera” executed, watching the misadventures of a fallen angel was still pretty entertaining. The Sound & Shape’s next Nashville show will be at The End Sept. 26th. -Terra James-Jura
