♫♪  Dope Body - “Weird Mirror”

Being from Baltimore, you get used to the same conversational points of reference. Crab cakes. The Ravens. The Wire. Occasionally, someone who’s done their reading will astutely mention that the indie gods of Animal Collective went to school in the area or that Tupac actually attended the Baltimore School of the Arts (alongside Jada Pinkett-Smith, just in case you were wondering). But Charm City probably isn’t going to come up in a conversation about killer up-and-coming punk bands. That is, until now.

Dope Body is the best noise rock outfit representing Baltimore right now, and possibly one of the best things to come out of the area since Dan Deacon’s trippy electronics. “Weird Mirror,” from their upcoming punk salvo Natural History (out May 22 on Drag City), is proof of that: you’ve got your ripping, chugging riffs; lyrics about cigarette hypocrites; and a feverish, Mission of Burma-esque feel throughout. It’s a tune metalheads and fist-pumping lacrosse bros (for whatever reason, two of Maryland’s largest musical constituencies) can come together and rock out to — and that’s how you know it’s great.

• Dope Body: http://dopebody.tumblr.com
• Drag City: http://www.dragcity.com

Chocolate Grinder

CHOCOLATE GRINDER is our audio/visual section, with an emphasis on the lesser heard and lesser known. We aim to dig deep, but we’ll post any song or video we find interesting, big or small.

Most Read



Etc.