Bodies Of Water don’t have much of a story to reveal, it seems – the basics is that they hail from Los Angeles; this is their 4th overall release and their first in six years and in a roundabout way, Spear In The City is almost a concept album; a travelogue through the stranger side of America.  Which, at this particular time in history, does not surprise me.  There is an air of mystery surrounding Bodies Of Water, which makes this all the more intriguing.  Because the music then does the talking and that’s what it’s about.

So to tackle this album is an interesting prospect – what would this sound like, given what little information I know?  My first thoughts, after listening through to the first few tracks is that it’s a highly ponderous and serious collection; the lyrics have an air of disappointment, curiosity and religiosity mixed with social commentary – case and point, “Here Among You”, which has a spiritual yet voyeuristic feel – like the subjects are being observed and reported on by a soul from on high – it has a somewhat spiritual feel as well, musically speaking.  Also, one of the most noticeable things about this band is that the vocals of lead singer David Metcalf reminds me of Scott Walker (albeit slightly less intense).  The country feel of “I’m Set Free” is no less serious – certainly in the delivery, although the lyrics detect a wryness and the most striking thing about this particular song is the starkness of the music – predominantly rhythm, with the occasional guitar stabs and a quietly subtle keyboard carrying the melody.  “Hold Me Closer” has the vibe of a ’60’s-styled spy themed track but with not-standard time signatures and “Echoes” has a nice groove and a great group vocal – easily my favorite track from this collection.

The great thing about this album is that it was a challenge – not knowing much about the band; the seriousness of the lyrics (at least, I take them seriously) offset by the structure of the melodies.  Which makes this a very good album by my standards.  This is one you may want to check out – you can sink your teeth into it, deeply.

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Spear In The City will be released on Friday, August 25th, 2017

https://thebodiesofwater.squarespace.com/

Album Reviews, Music

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About the Author

Rob Ross

Rob Ross has been, for good, bad or indifferent, involved in the music industry for over 30 years - first as guitarist/singer/songwriter with The Punch Line, then as freelance journalist, producer and manager to working for independent and major record labels. He resides in Staten Island, New York with his wife and cats; he works out a lot, reads voraciously, loves Big Star and his orange Gretsch. Doesn't that make him neat?

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