Shapes and Patterns by Swing Out Sister

Shapes and Patterns is a 1997 album by the British pop group Swing Out Sister. It was first released in Japan in March 1997, and then in Europe and USA the year after. Producer Paul Staveley O'Duffy, who co-wrote half of the songs, was back at the helm. As an orchestra was once again employed (led by Gavyn Wright), the lush arrangements characteristic of Kaleidoscope World 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. 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, point out 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. Mercury Records distributed Shapes and Patterns in the United States. 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."