Pitchfork

Montreal's peculiar popsters Shapes and Sizes know how to do the buzz-garnering thing; they've got plenty of chatter going behind their just-released Asthmatic Kitty LP Split Lips, Winning Hips, a Shiner, and their fine taste in tourmates can't hurt getting the word out. The band will hop on the National bandwagon in early June, and follow that with a month of dates with fellow oddballs They Shoot Horses Don't They.

In yet another entry in his burgeoning career as hypeman, the Shapes have been sized up by labelmate/occasional musicmaker Sufjan Stevens. Suf-dogg recently penned up a long string of impressionistic non sequiturs after taking in the band's set at Brooklyn's Union Hall:

"They hardly let the songs take flight before shooting them down with the cunning of a duck hunter. But this is where things get interesting. The jumping and barking of hound dogs, the breathless sprint to the mallard, slumped and bloodied in a sanctuary of water, the howling reeds, the ghost of the wind. Well, my metaphor gets the best of me here."

No kidding. English majors looking for a break from that John Milton summer course can wrangle with the whole thing on the Asthmatic Kitty Sidebar.

Shapes and Sizes:

06-02 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's *
06-04 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret du Musée Juste Pour Rire *
06-05 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House *
06-06 Detroit, MI - The Magic Stick *^
06-07 Chicago, IL - The Metro *^
06-08 Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar *^
06-09 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon *^
06-11 St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill *^
06-12 Louisville, KY - Headliners *^
06-13 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *^
06-15 Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theater *^
06-16 Columbus, OH - The Basement *^
06-18 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom *^
06-19 Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theatre *^
06-20 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *^
06-21 Cambridge, MA - Middle East *^
06-29 Vancouver, British Columbia - Railway Club
06-30 Victoria, British Columbia - Metro Theatre
07-04 Kelowna, British Columbia - The Whitehouse Gallery #
07-05 Calgary, Alberta - The Marquee #
07-06 Lethbridge, Alberta - Tongue 'n' Groove #
07-07 Edmonton, Alberta - Argyll Hall #
07-08 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Amigo's Cantina #
07-09 Regina, Saskatchewan - O'Hanlon's #
07-10 Brandon, Manitoba- TBA #
07-11 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Collective Cabaret #
07-12 Fardo, ND - Aquarium #
07-13 Minneapolis, MN -Nomad World Pub #
07-14 Champaign, IL - Cowboy Monkey #
07-15 Madison, WI - Cafe Montmarte #
07-16 Milwaukee, WI - Stonefly Brewery #
07-17 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle #
07-18 Detroit, MI - Majestic #
07-19 Windsor, Ontario - Phog Lounge #
07-20 Brantford, Ontario - Ford Plant #
07-21 Toronto, Ontario - Sneaky Dee's #
07-22 Sudbury, Ontario - The Townehouse #
07-23 Hamilton, Ontario - The Casbah #
07-24 Guelph, Ontario - TBA #
07-25 Kitchner, Ontario - Starlight Social Club #
07-26 Ottawa, Ontario - Zaphod's #
07-27 Montreal, Quebec - Main Hall #

* with the National
^ with Talkdemonic
# with They Shoot Horses Don't They