Shapes That Are Different, the debut album of Birmingham musician Hugh Sheehan, was released on 2nd June 2023 via Hybrid Forms. The genre-bending record, will not be confined to any one box. The album, a sincere and open-hearted debut, is a deep dive into the experience of growing up as a queer person in 90’s Birmingham.
“I’m totally obsessed with shame,” says Sheehan. “I just want to put it on a table and stare at it and inspect all of its facets. Perhaps that speaks to how deep its tendrils have stretched into my psyche. Shame is so universal—ubiquitous—but also so individual and isolating; and so this album is me figuring out what it means to me,” he continues.
In addition to closely examining shame, Shapes That Are Different sees Sheehan calling into question many of the conflicts inherent to queerness - ruminating on topics such as the quandary of assimilation vs radicalism; the unknowability of desire; and the codification of desire through language and semiotics, curriculums, and even dating and hookup apps.
Recorded partly at his family home in Birmingham, as well as in Helsinki, London, and The Isle of Lismore; Shapes That Are Different is a confluence of Irish folk songwriting, indie-adjacent production, and electronic sound design. It’s available now on limited edition vinyl, CD and digital.
“Sheehan offers a poetic ode to queer iconoclasm, examining the daring power inherent in queer existence” - Under the Radar