Percy Howard has always trusted the music before the words. On Shapes of Longing, that instinct shapes nine songs built from feeling first, lyrics second. Joined by guitarist Stephen Sullivan, bassist Richard Kazanjian, and drummer Sean Sullivan, Howard weaves love, faith, desire, and mortality into songs that began as sketches long before any lyric took shape.Recorded at 25th Street Studios and mixed by Joe Chiccarelli, the album adds slide guitar and blues shading, including a reworking of Blind Willie Johnson's "John the Revelator," with guest turns from CAKE's Vincent DiFiore and violinist John Ettinger.