Shield Patterns
45 MAGAZINE (Live Review)
“Borrowing the dense, yet richly stratified compositions from masters of rippling electronic realms like Actress, Forest Swords and even (at times) Joy Orbison and marrying them to the effortlessly avant garde vocals that sounded like Kate Bush calling out to you from the unknown extents of of a whirling vortex, this duo delivered a set that was nothing short of jaw dropping.”
HIT THE FLOOR 9/10
“Sexy, intricate, menacing, haunting, and quite frankly hypnotic – Shield Patterns have arguably released what could be the best electronic album of the year. Even more so, this is possibly one of the best debut albums that has been committed to record in a long, long time”
THE SKINNY ★★★★★
“Ten songs that carry enough charge to burn a hole in your heart. Contour Lines is immense.”
Shield Patterns, the Manchester-based duo of Claire Brentnall and Richard Knox, create intense, infectious and incredibly detailed dark-pop music. Debut album `Contour Lines´ was released in June via Gizeh Records and has gathered heavy praise from the press including a five star review from The Skinny magazine.
The project started life in late 2012 with Brentnall working alone on a bunch of home recorded demos. A chance meeting with Knox at her first ever solo show was enough to form an interest in working together in some capacity. Just a few months later and the duo were performing live together whilst also working on the beginnings of new material that would finally form the debut album. After retiring to the wilderness and isolation of the North Wales countryside, that album was finally complete.
There is a resolutely unique sound to the music Shield Patterns make. A lush, fragile and rich soundworld… like falling – slowly, gracefully, and not without hope, but still falling; a white shape in the darkness tumbling downwards.