First impressions are everything. Just look at the list of adjectives I used to describe Bodies Of Water’s debut record when I reviewed it for TMT a year ago:
- chant-happy
- willing to bare their soul before the big JC
- blatant
- borderline-camp
- vehemence
- pretension
- indulgence
- at-times screeching vocals
- a chorus or two that leave me with no option but to fantasize about tracking these folks down and killing each and every one of them (slowly)
Now, if you pay careful attention, you’ll notice I seemed to take Bodies Of Water’s music quite personally near the end; I’m not only offended but literally ready to stalk the earth in search of them, in hopes that I may someday bring home the head of BoW’s leader. That’s because the first Bodies Of Water album was – besides being very annoying at times – apparently all about getting one’s attention and then doing little to follow through. It was like that dodgy girl at the club who gave you her number but never texted you back; that employer who praised your resume to the sky and then hired some other double-douche; that musician who grants you an interview then refuses to blow you in the backseat of your car afterward.
This time, Bodies Of Water aren’t so quick to flee the scene after they’ve wiggled a fedora feather beneath your nose -- they sustain your attention, and they do it without those horrible, screeching choruses that sent me into a murderous rage so very recently. You might even say the four singing members of BoW are harmonizing, and with four different voiceboxes to kick around, they manage to barrage the listener with tones without weighing themselves (and their voices) down. Without bringing Mamas & Papas into the picture -- as I’m sure a million writers already have -- it’s refreshing to hear such heavyweight harmonies being shipped out by a modern act, especially when relatively crunchy guitars and urgent drums act as the styrofoam packing peanuts, ensuring things never get too messy or convoluted.
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