Hot on the heels of The Body’s sublime collaborations with Dis-Fig comes this new full-length on the ever-dependable Thrill Jockey label, The Crying Out Of Things, and I, for one, am very excited by the prospect of another voyage into oblivion.
This collection comes barreling out with the relentless blunt force beating of ”Last Things”. Ben Eberie’s trademark shrieked vocals are ever present, desperate, pained and distorted beyond repair. It’s a brash, confrontational way to enter and leaves you in no uncertain terms that you’d better strap in. Next up ”Removal” rolls in on heavy overdriven dub that should definitely appeal to fans of The Bug albeit with a blackened noise bite. ”Careless and Worn” sounds like a lo-fi funeral march in all of its monochromatic gloom. This is a meditative stare into the void bathed in the crackling sound of envelopes being forced open, alongside its ominous fanfare. ”A Premonition” dances on trap-esque beats before it enters a dark sub bass waltz of fuzzed out noise and brass stabs before crushing breakbeats resolve the rhythm and take you home in head banging bliss.
This is definitely an album to immerse yourself and simply surrender to, this is a deep dive into fractured sonics that is surprisingly accessible at least to my ears, that is not to say it’s not brutal because there is zero compromise here.
You could almost dance to tracks like the hardcore punk influenced ”Less Meaning” …almost, and I mean that in the loosest sense.
The Body truly have an all-encompassing modus operandi and there are many flavours on show. The ghost of subterranean dub haunts this collection in the shadows which means you really experience this album on a primal level. It’s not just noise for noise sake there are glimmers of melody hiding in plain sight but make no mistake, when it appears it’s in the form of a mournful lament like on the gigantic ”End Of Line”, a track that could soundtrack the collapse of society in real time. Penultimate track ”The Building” once again brings us into urban squalor with its distorted 808 kicks and hypnotic vocals courtesy of recent collaborator Felicia Chen of Dis Fig.
The Body close out this sonic exploration with ”All Worries” complete cinematic Gregorian choral chants expanding into wide-screen cracks of light through the slow motion decay of this, one their most emotive offerings yet. And that is what this is, it’s a very emotional album and we’re definitely not talking about joy or happiness, but a fractured self destruction that’s bathed in sonic manipulation. The Crying Out Of Things is another stunning addition to an already flawless discography.
