The Forms focus on the target
The Forms are a week into their US tour, having celebrated the release of their self-titled album, The Forms, at the start of the tour on October 30. It has been four years since The Forms debuted with Icarus, but for most the new album will be their introduction. Those that attended CMJ spoke highly of The Forms; the timing of the positive press with the release of the new album could not have been planned better.
Of the twelve songs on The Forms six of the tracks are under three minutes, while the longest song reaches 3:51. Yet the short songs speak more of precision and exactitude as they “focus on the target.” During the four years in between the two albums, The Forms have improved in their songwriting, taking their songs further along in the process.
Steve Albini produced The Forms at Electrical Audio in Chicago, adding his superior touch by enabling the band to find their strength instead of dictating a direction. The Forms spent 50 consecutive eight hour days in the studio, without taking a day off, with half of the studio time spent with Steve Albini.
The Forms stopped at WOXY‘s Lounge Acts yesterday, November 5, and performed Knowledge In Hand, Redgun, Bones, and Focus.
The Forms chatted with WOXY about the changes on the web since their first release four years ago:
“When we put out the first record, I felt like there was more of a culture of online `zines, and now the blog is a whole different animal. A Lot of the `zines that were writing about us then, they’re not around anymore. The readership on the blogs seems to be so much greater. I mean, people read it.”
The Forms performing at WOXY’s Lounge (11.5.07)
When Stereogum pieced together a tribute album to R.E.M.‘s Automatic For the People, they asked The Forms to be involved. With Steve Albini’s help, they recorded Ignoreland. The Forms blogged that Ignoreland was their “first song we’ve done over 4 minutes.” Alex Tween explained why they chose to record Ignoreland:
“We chose ‘Ignoreland’ because Michael Stipe‘s melody in it is great on so many levels, and it inspired us to try to reimagine the music that could potentially surround it. The original version is very densely layered, so we tried a more minimalist approach, incorporating the melody into the bassline and only using bass and drums as the instruments.”
The Forms – The Forms (iTunes)
The Forms tour dates:
Tues, Oct 30 – New York, NY @cake shop (Record Release Party)
Thurs, Nov 1 – Pittsburgh, PA @lava lounge
Fri, Nov 2 – Dayton, OH @pearl nightclub
Sat, Nov 3 – Chicago, IL @beat kitchen
Sun, Nov 4 – Ypsilanti, MI @elbow room
Mon, Nov 5 – Cincinnati, OH @woxy in-studio
Tues Nov 6 – Minneapolis, MN @first avenue
Wed, Nov 7 – Kansas City, MO @record bar
Thurs, Nov 8- St. Louis, MO @the bluebird
Fri, Nov 9 – Champaign, IL @cowboy monkey
Sat, Nov 10 – Tulsa, OK @mooch and burn
Sun, Nov 11 – Austin, TX @tba
Tue, Nov 13 – Long Beach, CA @prospector
Wed, Nov 14 – Los Angeles, CA @the scene
Thurs, Nov 15 – Hollywood, CA @3 of clubs
Fri, Nov 16 – Santa Cruz, CA @coasters
Sat, Nov 17 – Sacramento, CA @speakeasy
Sun, Nov 18 – San Francisco, CA @tba
Mon, Nov 19 – Seattle, WA @funhouse
Tues, Nov 20- Portland, OR @tonic lounge