Critic Score
Based on 18 reviews
2021 Ratings: #99 / 753
User Score
2021 Rank: #129
Liked by 133 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Gigwise

A thrilling sophomore album, Any Shape You Take imbues existentialism in an intricately crafted mixture of melancholy joy.

91
A.V. Club

Ferocious and vulnerable in equal measure, the musician's nervy new album is one of the year's best.

90
The Line of Best Fit

Any Shape You Take is a record about heartbreak and despair. But it’s also more than that. It encompasses the extremes of human emotion, as De Souza shoots back and forth across the divide like a pendulum in full swing.

86
Paste

The North Carolina songwriter’s heart overflows on her instrumentally and emotionally abundant second record.

83
Pitchfork
The North Carolina songwriter’s outstanding second album spans grungy rock and colorful, hi-fi pop, illuminating her impressive voice and her ability to wring out every last drop of emotion.
82
Sputnikmusic
One thing you're sure to remember is the album's energy: frayed-wire nervous but busily excited, never fully revealing itself but brutally open-hearted, and no matter the genre, entirely unique.
81
Beats Per Minute
As she continues to embolden her songwriting, takes up more space, and earns a legion of fans, the results can only be positive for her and everyone around her.
80
NME
It’s a follow-up that seals her as a new icon for outsiders, in whatever shape she takes.
80
Under the Radar

While the two albums seem to be beating to a similar drum, Any Shape You Take makes a concerted effort to clean-up the messes left behind and unfinished in 2018.

80
The Skinny

Any Shape You Take spans genres, from TikTok pop to grunge and lots in between – and Indigo De Souza commits to them all.

80
Exclaim!

Any‌ ‌Shape‌ ‌You‌ ‌Take‌‌ ‌is‌ ‌endlessly‌ ‌energized,‌ ‌each‌ ‌corroded‌ ‌riff‌ ‌and‌ ‌synth‌ ‌streak‌ ‌glowing‌ ‌with‌ ‌purpose.‌

80
Clash
‘Any Shape You Take’, rich in the emotional palette that it’s genre-free conveys, gathers together sentiments that may be familiar to many but haven’t been depicted in the vivid and complex methods explored here.
80
Uncut
The Asheville-based singer and guitarist has a knack for couching her raw and remarkably candid lyrics in fuzzy, hooky songs that are as jagged as they are exuberant.
80
Mojo
Indigo De Souza's second album see-saws between manic joy and depressive darkness but never loses its sense of wit, grace or noise-dipped tunefulness.
70
Loud and Quiet
De Souza has entered a crowded field of artists influenced by ’90s grunge-pop, but in moving past the confines of a home studio to self-produce the record she’s already flexing her wings for fresh musical shapes.
70
The Needle Drop

Despite missing some of its predecessor's rough-and-ready charm, Any Shape You Take is a solid indie effort.

60
AllMusic

Doubling down on the debut's raw and candid ethos, the follow-up delves into dysfunctional relationships, death, and despair with a more polished yet still hooky, jagged indie rock.

jxshmccabe
90

i peed white listening to this.

CrazyCrusher
80

I'm so glad that I randomly decided to listen to this.

This is a key example of why it's important to have a good cover art, I would have never checked this out if it weren't for the art, bu time so glad I did. I had no idea what I was getting myself into on this project cause I went in completely blind and was pleasantly surprised. Indigo De Souza is an artist I've never heard of, and "Any Shape You Take" is her sophmore record, and indie rock album with beautiful vocals, themes, ... read more

Maqtheus
70

A síntese do indie rock em 2021.

Depositando suas emoções em faixas que discorrem perfeitamente sobre sentimentos universais, Indigo de Souza em 'Any Shape You Take' é acompanhada com uma produção intriseca e puramente tentadora. Acordes de guitarra e uma atmosfera pop levemente condensada entre arranjos que se cruzam e formam uma combinação interessante, acabam sendo características das canções de destaque, como ... read more

logsbtw
61

Consistently pretty okay but repetitive and doesn’t have any scaffolding or support for its absolute highs which make it feel disjointed, i wish every song was as good as real pain or hold U.

Favourites - Real pain, hold U
least favourites - kill me, 17 , pretty pictures, late night crawler

82

I remember the first time I listened to real pain. I was so confused, but... couldn't turn it off? That song is a god damn masterpiece.

charhf
95

top 3 tracks: Kill Me, Late Night Crawler, Real Pain

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Track List

117
3:06
83
2Darker Than Death
3:12
85
3Die/Cry
2:26
83
4Pretty Pictures
2:58
83
5Real Pain
4:50
92
6Bad Dream
4:51
87
7Late Night Crawler
4:17
83
8Hold U
4:16
87
9Way Out
4:01
83
10Kill Me
4:20
88
Total Length: 38 minutes
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Added on: June 15, 2021