Minneapolis band Unstable Shapes is finally releasing music after forming around five years ago.
Lead vocalist Andrew Cahak threw out the idea of forming a band over drinks with guitarists Mitch Gustafson and Ryan Jaroscak at Amsterdam Bar after seeing Massive Attack at Palace Theater in September 2019.
It had been a running joke to start a band. Cahak, Gustafson and Jaroscak had been friends for nearly a decade. Gustafson and Jaroscak have both played guitar for nearly 25 years, while Cahak had untapped creativity after finishing ten years of stand-up comedy. This time was different.
“It felt more like, ‘Yeah, sure. Why not?’” Gustafson said.
The band is held together with five members — Cahak, Gustafson, Jaroscak, Kevin Hurley and James Taylor. Hurley, the bassist, was introduced into the band in late 2019. Taylor, the drummer, joined the band around July 2021. Hurley has been playing bass for 16 years, and Taylor has been drumming since the late 90s.
Cahak described their sound as heavy, but not heavy. Aggressive, but not too aggressive. Their music is serious, emotional and noisy.
“We are not necessarily serious men, but we are a serious band,” Cahak said.
The band only has time to practice once a week. After bouncing off of each other’s talents during the writing process for three years, they finally finished their first album, “Delicate Machinery,” this past July. It is set to release in early 2025.
The release date for the 10-track, 38-minute album is undetermined.
The first four members fit four or five practices in before January 2020. Then COVID-19 hit, and the band was put on hold until the summer of 2021, Cahak said.
Jobs, family and COVID-19 were and continue to be roadblocks that prevent the band from finding time to make their post-punk, post-hardcore reminiscent sound.
Gustafson did not want to take any chances being out in public during the initial surge of COVID-19. His daughter was born prematurely around that time and prone to sickness.
All of the band members have careers that keep them busy. Hurley and Taylor are in their own separate bands, The Great Went and LAAMAR respectively. Gustafson is a technical writer for a software company, Cahak works in customer service at a cable company, Jaroscak works at a bank and Taylor is a booker for First Avenue.
Choosing the band name was just as collaborative a process as writing a song. Gustafson made a spreadsheet where each band member could dump any idea they had for a name.
Each member then went through and voted on the names on a one to five scale. Consequently, it posed a challenge for five people to agree on a name, but the band came to an agreement on “Unstable Shapes.”
Gustafson said there were additional pressures from friends and family wondering when the band was going to start releasing music and playing shows.
“Just the fact that you made this thing, and people who you’ve never met and will never meet can like it,” Cahak said. “That’s a really gratifying thing.”
The band takes bits and pieces of inspiration from bands like Interpol, Unwound, Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes and Sonic Youth. Gustafson said he can’t describe the band’s sound.
“I really don’t think we sound like any other band,” Gustafson said.
Cahak said finally releasing music is hugely satisfying.
Unstable Shapes now has three released songs. “Glass Ladder”, a song about loss, and “The Local Sphinx”, a song about making sense of the world, came out this past February. The latest single, “Feral Joy,” came out Friday, Nov. 1.
“Feral Joy” is full of tension from the bustling instruments and Cahak’s poignant vocal drawl. It is a song about navigating a sense of self, and the lyric, “I’m a vulgar werewolf in a tuxedo,” reflects that, Cahak said.
“I’m holding it together, but I’m a wild animal,” Cahak said to explain the lyrics. “I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t know how to react to things. I don’t know what to say.”
The band played their first show in February 2023, Gustafson said. They’re going to play their 21st show at Zhora Darling on Nov. 15.
