This Is Not Your Shape

2011

"We hope you enjoy the contemporary sound of these intriguing survivors from the heyday of British post-punk."
– From Bleak's original release copy (please see below)

First released by Bleak Netlabel 2011 (Bleak 36). Special-Edition CD 2012 (Bleak 36)
Bleak Mini-site: https://media.bleak.at/bleak/bleak.036/ (But please note, as of September 2026, the download is not available at Bleak. Please go to the CA Bandcamp.)

This Is Not Your Shape is a download album of nine tracks, seven of them previously unreleased, recorded by CA 2004–2009. It is the first full album of new material from CA for 28 years. The album comes with CD artwork, for those who wish to make a physical copy. The album is accompanied by Verbose Logging, a designed PDF booklet containing a selection of lyrics of songs recorded 1998–2009. Also released with the album is a video for the non-album track Contains (first released on Enormous Savages Enlarged).

The album was very successful in terms of the number of downloads and so Bernhard proposed a limited-edition CD (a run of 100), which was released September 2012. The album, presented in a DVD case, included a bonus track, Brand New Day, a version of Verbose Logging as a booklet, two postcards and a lapel badge.

Reviews

“Cultural Amnesia have appeared on this blog several times … always on essential compilations that you never tire of listening to. Belonging to the most genuine British post-punk and post-industrial scene, the only three recordings from their early period are firmly rooted in the cassette culture of the late '70s and early '80s. For me, they're not just another band; they're a staple on my playlist, and all the die-hard fans of that scene will understand why. The late John Balance was the group's manager and co-writer of some of their songs. Even if only for that reason… The great thing about this 2011 album is that it was the band's first in 28 years, bringing together studio-recorded material from between 2004 and 2009 that had never been released before (7 of the 9 tracks). That they're still in top form is undeniable. A clean and elegant sound with their signature electro touch."
– Wet Dreams Blog, November 8, 2015

"This Is Not Your Shape gathers songs recorded during the 2004–2009 period and since the first listening, you'll realize that they might have updated their sound but their approach to sound is still the same. They treat sounds and vocals like pieces of an imaginary collage where melodies and an experimental approach to musical production mix naturally. On tracks like "The Product Chunk Funk", "Gary's Problem" or "Product Chunk" you can feel a sort of "sane insanity" which, don't ask me why, reminds me of Monty Python. Maybe it is because of the way of using the voice which sometimes sounds irreverent or maybe because of how they look for original ways of treating rhythms or sounds. Check, for example, "Seasong (For Geoff Rushton)", a song composed in memory of their friend, commonly known as John Balance: they mix synth, reverb guitar (which sometimes reminds me of solutions used by Fripp), syncopated rhythm and dream-like vocals (you can say that they were truly remembering him while singing). The album is closed by "Waiting For The End", a post-apocalyptic tune with recitative vocals and that "Fripp" guitar again. In the package you'll also find Verbose Logging, a designed PDF booklet containing a selection of lyrics of songs recorded 1998–2009. This is a must download! Welcome back Cultural Amnesia!"
– Maurizio Pustianaz, Chain D.L.K., Noise Brigade, February 14, 2012

Release Copy for Bleak's Original Digital Edition (2011)

This Is Not Your Shape is the first full album of new material from Cultural Amnesia for 28 years. Seven of the nine tracks are released for the first time here. The accompanying designed booklet, Verbose Logging, contains the lyrics of almost all the songs recorded by CA since they resumed activity in the late '90s. The video for "Contains" is the first official video from the band ever.

Cultural Amnesia were first active 1980–1983. They released three cassette albums and appeared on some of the better-known cassette compilations. They had a notable associate in the young Geoff Rushton, soon to change his name to John Balance. He wrote songs for them and acted as their manager (one of the songs on This Is Not Your Shape is dedicated to him).
After 1983 nothing more was heard from CA. A contracted vinyl album failed to appear. But in 1998 the three members of the band recorded some new material, and in 2003 a website was launched. Since then they have been recording more new material and have released two well-received collections of their '80s recordings (Enormous Savages, Press My Hungry Button, also Still Hungry) and a few of their new tracks. We hope you enjoy the contemporary sound of these intriguing survivors from the heyday of British postpunk.