Album Notes

Sheila Swift's upbeat and energetic music is Prozac without the prescription. Rock-pop compositions come bursting out at you on the new record “Shape of Things”. Laced with palpable melodies, shiny lyrics, and tasty hooks that excite the senses, Swift’s trademark spirit and optimism come shining through as the Houston based singer/songwriter creates a lighthearted arena in which to deconstruct the somewhat weighty themes explored within the vastness of love, life, and loss which collects within the writer’s consciousness and then artfully emerge as a catalogue of songs-- full of life and possibility.....

Houston Bands: CD Reviews

Jan. 3, 2007, 11:06AM
Sheila Swift's Shape is a pop lover's dream
By JOEY GUERRA For The Chronicle

Sheila Swift's The Shape of Things is a smart-pop lover's dream. It's a slick, vividly produced collection of tunes that are sentimental without overdosing on syrup. Swift's bold, brightly colored voice injects every song with a shimmering immediacy.

The Houston-based singer, who spent some time in Seattle, has a knack for catchy hooks that are more complex than most of what rules Top 40 radio. It makes sense, since she lists Neil Finn and Sarah McLachlan as influences.

Swift recorded the disc in Idaho with an impressive set of players that includes bassist Joey Canaday (LeAnn Rimes), drummer Jeff Marino (Jo Dee Messina), guitarist Nathan Trueb (the Carolines) and pianist Dennis Borycki (Garth Brooks).

Kickoff track Feel Like I Do weaves a tale of a tortuous breakup, but it's pure joy once the chorus kicks in, as Swift wonders if others have felt the same as she does.

She muses about her strengths and weaknesses during Hard Like Oak and showcases a lilting country-pop groove on There's Still Love, which
recalls the sweet sound of the Wreckers.

Interrupter, another standout, equates a disastrous relationship with a wild-West shootout. An ominous arrangement rolls behind Swift's clever lyrics, which position her as an unlikely gunslinger.

As its title suggests, Something Borrowed is about a wedding day, but it's also a bittersweet remembrance of lost loved ones. It incorporates joy and pain and wraps them in a lush, lovely arrangement.

The disc's — and Swift's — ultimate strength is imagery and metaphor, which never spill into cliché. Swift, who majored in art and English at Houston Baptist University, also paints. (You can see her work at www.gallery279.com).

The music alone, though, creates a vivid pop portrait that always delights — and often dazzles.

Houston-based singer Sheila Swift's album, The Shape of Things, is catchy but not saccharine.