Orphans of the stream

By Henry Lipput

… and something else (Jangleshop Records) was a surprise release a few months ago from Shapes Like People, the team of Kat and Carl Mann. Consisting of two songs that were not used on their recent album, the first-rate Under The Rainbow, they decided that rather than let these songs be left on the shelf for eternity, the duo would make them available to fans.

One of these, “Bird In Song,” is a beautiful tune that, with its nature-centric feel, brings to mind “A New Crown” from Shapes Like People’s debut album Ticking Haze. 

With more of an upbeat sound “Broken Hearted People” may have some of the same elements of “My Paradise” from Under The Rainbow but it is in many ways a different beast. It sounds, to me, different musically than anything Carl has written for either Shapes Like People or with his prior band The Shop Window -- which makes it a real find.

You can just imagine how difficult it must have been for Kat and Carl to decide which songs to use as they were working on the track listing for Under The Rainbow. As lovely as “Bird In Song” is there are other songs on the album with similar vibes – and you need to mix things up. As for “Broken Hearted People” it might fit with another project entirely. Above all we should be grateful they have decided to share these with us.