V Shape Mind
Cul-De-Sac
Universal
When you’re in a rock band, it helps to know people who run local clubs, someone that can lend you recording equipment, build a website for you for free, or screenprint t-shirts for you at wholesale prices. Of course, it also helps to have friends who are established musicians, and who, in turn, can get you hooked up with a famous producer. Case in point: V Shape Mind singer/songwriter Brad Hursh grew up knowing Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray, who apparently handed one of their demo tapes to producer Dave Bottrill. Bottrill liked what he heard and the guys in V Shape Mind ended up being the first act signed to the producer’s new imprint for Universal. Horray for social networking!
The finished product, Cul-De-Sac, comes off for the most part as a more streamlined version of Mudvayne’s aggressive metal onslaught, but with the vocal melodies and knack for hooky choruses of TRUST Company. Although there’s nothing that really deviates from the mold too much here, the band does the “heavy melodic” bit really well, and fans of bands like A Perfect Circle and Sevendust should be quite pleased. Bottrill’s production is, of course, top notch, and radio-friendly nuggets like “Monsters,” “Gravity” and “Peel the Rind” clearly showcase their finer pop qualities. All things considered, not a bad start.
V Shape Mind: [www.vshapemind.com/](http://www.vshapemind.com/)
