Shapeshifter (Knuckle Puck album)

In March 2017, Knuckle Puck released a seven-inch vinyl record, featuring the tracks "Calendar Days" and "Indecisive". From here until May 2017, the band supported Mayday Parade on their headlining tour of the United States,^[3] and appeared at the So What?! Music Fest.^[4]

When the band attempted to record a new album, it did not go as they intended, as guitarist Nick Casasanto explained they were "having such a struggle and being so disconnected in the recording process felt wrong". They decided to collaborate with Seth Henderson, who had produced Copacectic. Casasanto said there was a "glaring parallel between what was going on with the record and what we were writing about at the time."^[5]

On July 27, 2017, Shapeshifter was announced for released in three months' time. Alongside this, "Gone" was made available for streaming.^[5] A music video for "Double Helix" was released on September 13, 2017, the same day the track was made available for streaming;^[6] "Want Me Around" was then made available for streaming on October 6, 2017.^[7] They promoted the album with a US tour in October and November 2017, with support from Movements, With Confidence and Homesafe.^[6] A music video was released for "Gone" on October 19, 2017; it apes the video for "The Rock Show" (2001) by Blink-182, depicting a birthday party held in the Northwest of Indiana.^[8] Following this, the band planned to headline a European tour with support from Tiny Moving Parts and Movements. Have Mercy was also intended to join, but had to pull out citing mental health reasons.^[9] Before it was underway, Knuckle Puck cancelled the tour outright, also citing mental health issues.^[10] At the end of the year, they co-headlined The Holiday Extravaganza festival with Real Friends.^[11]

In March and April 2018, Knuckle Puck went on a headlining US, with support from Boston Manor, Free Throw, Hot Mulligan and Jetty Bones.^[12] The Shifted EP was released in April 2018, featuring reworked versions of five tracks from Shapeshifter; it was preceded by "Conduit"^[13] and "Nervous Passenger".^[14] Following this, they appeared at the Galaxy Camp festival in Germany and Switzerland,^[15] and Slam Dunk Festival in the United Kingdom, and played three regular shows in mainland Europe with State Champs.^[16] A music video was released for "Want Me Around" on June 7, 2018.^[17] Shortly after this, the band performed on the Warped Tour festival across the US.^[18] In October 2018, the band went on a headlining UK tour with support from Tiny Moving Parts and Movements.^[19] followed by a support slot for Good Charlotte on their headlining US tour, which ran into November 2018.^[20] Knuckle Puck closed out the year co-headlining the Snowed in festival with Knocked Loose.^[21]

Shapeshifter was met with universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on four reviews.^[22]

It peaked at number 50 on the Billboard 200;^[24] it reached the top 10 on the Alternative Albums,^[25] Independent Albums^[26] and Top Rock Albums.^[27]

• Joe Taylor – lead vocals
• Nick Casasanto – rhythm guitar, co-lead vocals
• Kevin Maida – lead guitar
• Ryan Rumchaks – bass, backing vocals
• John Siorek – drums