"Shapes and Patterns" is the fifth studio album by the British pop group Swing Out Sister, first released in Japan in March 1997 on Mercury Records, with a later release in Europe and the United States. The album saw the return of producer Paul Staveley O'Duffy, who co-wrote half of the songs and guided the band back to the lush, orchestral arrangements reminiscent of their earlier work, particularly Kaleidoscope World. Notable tracks include Now You're Not Here, which served as the theme for the Japanese TV program Mahiru No Tsuki, and a reworked version of Better Make It Better from their previous album, The Living Return.
Shapes and Patterns also marked the beginning of the group's collaboration with Japanese musicians, which influenced the album's sound. The liner notes by Mary Edwards highlight the album's diverse influences, including the string arrangements and Latin rhythms inspired by Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, John Barry, and the soul and pop stylings of Minnie Riperton, Rotary Connection, and The 5th Dimension.
Promoting the album in the U.S. presented challenges due to its eclectic style, which blended pop, urban, adult contemporary, and jazz influences. A marketing executive from Mercury noted the difficulty of categorizing the group's music within the American market, while Europe and Japan were more receptive to the band's genre-crossing sound. Despite these challenges, the album was supported by singles like Somewhere in the World" and "We Could Make It Happen.
