nûs - Shapes of Longing
Release date: October 15, 2015
Tracklist:
1. Fissure
2. John The Revelator
3. The Reaper
4. Magic In The Trees
5. Left Behind
6. The Second Coming
7. The Basis For the Devil's Argument - Part 1
8. God Only Knows
9. The Basis For the Devil's Argument - Part 2
Featuring Percy Howard (vocals, lyrics), Stephen Sullivan (guitars, synthesizer), Richard Kazanjian (bass), and Sean Sullivan (drums), Nûs continue to blur the boundaries between experimental rock, art rock, blues, soul, and progressive music on Shapes of Longing.
Looking back on the album's creation, Percy Howard recalls how Shapes of Longing came together: “Shapes of Longing was birthed in about 8 months through Nûs’ usual creative process of building entire songs out of snippets, hooks, or musical phrases that have been carried around in our heads (like the opening bass hooks for ‘Fissure’ and ‘The Reaper’ that Rich brought in), and sometimes entire compositions (like Steve writing ‘Left Behind’ and bringing it in for refining by the band).”
Lyrically, Shapes of Longing continues the philosophical and emotional exploration introduced on Nûs’ previous albums, All The Vertical Angels and Inside Is The Only Way Out. Themes of love, faith, desire, mortality, and human longing weave throughout the record, reflecting the band’s introspective approach to songwriting. Rather than building songs around finished lyrics, Nûs allows the music to shape the narrative from the earliest stages of the creative process. Percy Howard explains: “I always take an initial crack at lyrics when the whole band is together actively working on the sketches of songs. It’s completely rare that a song grows out of a lyric.”
As the material evolved, the band found new musical directions emerging naturally from the songs themselves. “It became apparent in the refining of some of the songs such as ‘Reaper,’ ‘John the Revelator’ and ‘Left Behind’ that the mood of the songs called for slide guitar to invite an element of the blues in,” Howard says. “‘John the Revelator’ is in fact a deconstruction and reconstruction of a Blind Willie Johnson song, originally written in the 1920s. It was so enjoyable to bring in this spooky blues mood into the songs, dark Gary Clark Jr.-type elements.”
To bring the album’s arrangements to life, Nûs enlisted several guest musicians, including CAKE trumpet player Vince DiFiore, violinist John Ettinger, composer and pianist Jack Perla, Broun Fellinis saxophonist David Boyce, and vocalist Natalie Carol, whose contributions further expanded the record’s sonic palette. John Ettinger also continues to perform with the band live. The core-group of the founding members is joined by Sean Sullivan on drums. As Howard explains: “Sean is Steve’s son. And grew up with the band, and always wanted to be in it. He brings a unique perspective and helps us keep our sound updated and dynamic. Just adding a few things”.
Recorded in October 2025, at the legendary 25th Street Studios with engineer Gabriel Sheppard. After working with Joe Chiccarelli on his solo album, Howard invited the acclaimed producer and mixer to mix Shapes of Longing, bringing his signature approach to the final sound. “Joe was able to help Nûs take one leap deeper into an already molten and romantic world in a way resonant with modern production aesthetics and techniques,” says Howard. “The result is an album that preserves the esoteric aesthetic of historic Nûs while updating it with blues, soul and groove, creating an expanded musical tapestry that invites a new audience while satisfying longtime listeners.”