Shapes and Patterns is the fifth studio album by British pop group Swing Out Sister. It was first released in Japan in March 1997 on Mercury Records, and in Europe and the United States the following year. Producer Paul Staveley O'Duffy, who co-wrote half of the songs on the album, was back at the helm. As an orchestra was once again employed (led by Gavyn Wright), the lush arrangements characteristic of Kaleidoscope World (1989) resurfaced. The album features the track "Now You're Not Here" which was used as the theme to the Japanese programme Mahiru No Tsuki, as well as a reworked version of "Better Make It Better" which had featured on their previous studio album, The Living Return (1994). The album was promoted with the singles "Somewhere in the World" and "We Could Make It Happen." This album would also mark the beginning of the group's collaborations with Japanese musicians in their studio sessions. The liner notes, written by composer/singer-songwriter Mary Edwards, points out that the influences of Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, and John Barry are perceptible in the string arrangements and Latin rhythms, as well as Minnie Riperton, Rotary Connection and The 5th Dimension. In an interview with Paul Sexton of Billboard magazine, a marketing executive from Mercury described the challenge associated with promoting the album in the U.S. due to the evolution of the group's music: "When you have a band like Swing Out Sister, you'd have a tough time pinpointing their sound. It's pop, it's urban, it's adult, it's jazz. Europe and Japan don't adhere to those rules as much as America does. It crosses over so many lines, and that's where Swing Out's strength is."

Track listing

Personnel

Swing Out Sister Additional musicians

Production

Sales and certifications