Shapes is the new single from Paper Beat Scissors, the experimental folk project of England-born, Montreal-based musician Tim Crabtree. Taken from his new album ‘Parallel Line‘, due for release this month on 13 September (Forward Music Group), we have the pleasure in sharing the accompanying video by Montreal-based cinematographer and director Derek Branscombe who Tim has previously worked with on the accompanying video for Lawless from his 2015 album Go On.
Both director and artist share an insight into the song and video below in their own words. As with the album which explores all the mess and complexity inherent to merely being alive, albeit with a quiet clarity, a wide-eyed vulnerability, this song and video captures the tensions of a breakdown in a relationship. The visuals used by Branscombe are often so simple in concept yet they convey a mass of complex emotions and tensions beneath the surface as well as the fragility of human relationships. Crabtree, a singer whose songs are always deeply infused with emotion, connects with his listener on such a level that he freezes time. Combined with Branscombe’s video, they take it to another level.
Crabtree says: “Shapes is about wavering back and forth between accepting and denying the breakdown of a relationship. It’s about the emotional contortions that we pull ourselves through but lay at the doorstep of others. For me, the central character in the song is misguided in putting the blame for the emotional strife he’s going through at the feet of someone else.” Musically the song hangs there in stasis over one repeating chord for the bulk of the first part of the song, washes of pedal steel (Mike Feuerstack – Bell Orchestre, the Luyas) and French horn (Pietro Amato – Patrick Watson, Land of Talk) flitting in and out. Eventually, the steam builds and the song breaks open towards its climax, the counter-rhythms of the piano and the waves of horns taking centre stage, the pedal steel turned aggressive and a crescendo of drums fills to bursting. “I want it all. I want none”. But when we emerge to the quiet of the other side there’s no resolution, no catharsis, the character is stuck where he started.
From the director: “When I first heard Shapes it really spoke to me about the trauma of relationships. Not in a grandiose sense, but more the inherent pain that exists when two people are trying to stay together and it’s just not working. Love and hate can be so tangled up in those types of situations; I wanted to explore that state through bodies, objects and textures. The push, the pull, the convoluted torsion that we go through in order to try to fuse with a loved one – it’s all there.”
Mixed by Dean Nelson (Beck, Thurston Moore), featuring Michael Feuerstack (pedal steel), Pietro Amato (French horn), Marshall Bureau (drums), JJ Ipsen (bass).
Pre-Order Parallel Line: Bandcamp | Amazon
Upcoming Live Dates
For Full Details and Ticket Links – http://paperbeatscissors.com/live/
13.09 – Bocholt, DE: house show
14.09 – Erfurt, DE: Franz Mehlhose
15.09 – Hannover, DE: UJZ Kornstraße EARLY SHOW 6pm
17.09 – Cologne, DE: Weltempfänger
18.09 – Berlin, DE: Monarch
19.09 – Leipzig, DE: Hans Poeter
20.09 – Offenbach, DE: Parkside Studios
21.09 – Liege, BE: l’An Vert
22.09 – Darmstadt, DE: Gute Stube
23.09 – Würzburg, DE: Viertelcafé
24.09 – Munich, DE: Heppel & Ettlich
26.09 – Pilsen, CZ: Club Anděl
27.09 – Prague, CZ: Cafe v Lese
28.09 – Göttingen, DE: Nörgelbuff
29.09 – Wiesbaden, DE: Kulturpalast Wiesbaden
30.09 – Brussels, BE: Super Dakota
01.10 – London, UK: Hackney Empire Bar
02.10 – Norwich, UK: Louis Marchesi
SOLO DATES
08/10 – Manchester, UK: Rose & Monkey
09/10 – Edinburgh, UK: Voodoo Rooms *
10/10 – Birmingham, UK: Kitchen Garden Cafe *
11/10 – London, UK: St. Pancras Old Church *
13/10 – Milton Keynes, UK: The Stables *
14/10 – Nottingham, UK: Jam Cafe
15/10 – Leeds, UK: Oporto *
16/10 – Newcastle, UK: Cluny 2 *
17/10 – Chester, UK: St. Mary’s Creative Space *
18/10 – Bristol, UK: Crofter’s Rights *
20/10 – Winchester, UK: Railway Inn *
* = with Rose Cousins
CANADIAN TOUR DATES
10/24 – Toronto, ON: Monarch, 12 Clinton Street (w/Merival)
10/25 – Ottawa, ON: SAW Gallery (w/Merganzer)
11/01 – Montreal, QC: Theatre Outremont
11/07 – Halifax, NS: the Seahorse
11/08 – Moncton, NB: Tide & Boar
11/09 – Fredericton, NB: Capital Complex
11/10 – Sackville, NB: Thunder & Lightning (solo)
11/15 – Quebec City, QC: Le Knock-Out (w/L Con – solo)
Photo Credit: Stacy Lee