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May 03, 2023 By Caleb Campbell

Birmingham, England-based singer/songwriter Hugh Sheehan debuted last month with the sincere and soaring confessional, “He.” That track is the first taste of Sheehan’s forthcoming debut LP, Shapes That Are Different. Recorded partly at his Birmingham family home, as well as in London, The Isle of Lismore, and Helsinki, the record sees Sheehan knitting together strands of Irish folk songwriting, indie production, and intimate electronic touches. However, the record is equally an exploration of queerness and sees Sheehan digging into the questions and conflicts that arose growing up as a queer person in ‘90s Birmingham.

As Sheehan explains, “I’m totally obsessed with shame. 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.”

Today, Sheehan is also back with another new single, the album’s title track, premiering with Under the Radar.

In contrast to the record’s lead single, “Shapes That Are Different” is a more subdued and pastoral effort. The track thrusts Sheehan’s vocals to the forefront, allowing his heartwrenching voice to join in concert with some gentle guitar and dusky string textures. Sheehan’s vocals swell and crash like waves, entering into gorgeous block harmonies at one moment and effortlessly sliding into a tremulous intimacy at the next. Lyrically, Sheehan offers a poetic ode to queer iconoclasm, examining the daring power inherent in queer existence: “I will rise/And dissent in the face of decree/We are bound/Shapes that are different must be.”

He explains of the track, “This song crystallises the underlying sentiment of the record. It speaks of the ties to the queer people who have come before us, and to the conflicts and contradictions, expectation and presumptions that are inherent to queerness. Above all it is a mantra to myself to always strive to live life on my terms.”

Check out the song below. Shapes That Are Different is out everywhere on June 2nd.