Greene Reveal play the type of swirling and swelling yet inherently melodic progressive post-hardcore that many will easily tie to Circa Survive. That's not bad company to be in, but it's also a difficult standard to measure up to, and the band's first full-length doesn't quite meet that level.

Singer/guitarist Shawn VanBrocklin can't be faulted for not having the stratosphere-reaching vocal prowess of Anthony Green, really. His own voice is fine enough, though admittedly flat in places and often sort of wispy for this musical style. The kid's got some decent range and emotional versatility otherwise. You can hear its careful movements in songs like "Unravel Me" and the title track. He occasionally sounds a bit overproduced (the multi-tracking becomes a little grating in "Seakeeper") or even sort of fatigued in a flustered sort of way ("Givers & Takers"), though.

Musically, (Re)shape is competently thorough at best and a bit forgettable at worst. Dynamics are employed, but they're not terribly ambitious and certainly not as explosive as they could be. Instead the band saunter between verse and chorus with barely a hint the transition's actually taking place, even though they're definitely there. The guitars set a nice foundation with tasteful applications of delay, distortion or even some phasing, but they never quite jump out--they're just sort of cheesy and consequently ineffectual on "Sunseeker." "Storm Herald" gets some electronic programmed stuff filtered through and drives it well alongside some cool post-rock-esque guitars; it's like a really fleshed-out interlude, and even with the Auto-Tune-ish effects on VanBrocklin's voice it's actually one of the album's better moments.

Save that song, the band sound best when a little more enlivened, like with "Hourglass." The riffs are very Colin Frangicetto, sure, but VanBrocklin has a little more emphasis in his changes and the energy level lurches back and forth in an interesting manner. A drifting title track catches a sudden burst of momentum with about a minute to go but it comes off oddly thin.

The promise in this record is straight-away clear, but that's really all it has to bear. A little more conviction, energy and songwriting gelling and a real solid, convincing album could be had, but (Re)shape ain't it.

STREAM
(Re)shape (except the closer, "12:21")