Living Body – Body is Working

Album Review by Jamie Otsa | 09 Dec 2016
Album title: Body is Working
Artist: Living Body
Label: Barely Regal
Release date: 2 Dec

A new project from Jeff T. Smith (formerly known as Juffage), featuring longtime collaborators Katie Harkin (Harkin, Sky Larkin, Sleater-Kinney), and Tom Evans (Vessels), this self-recorded debut is the product of three years' hard graft, and boy does it show. Overflowing with ideas, knee-deep in immersive textures and blips, swollen with poeticism, it’s a treat from start to finish.

Latest single I Recollect is a bittersweet little gem that flickers like a candle flame, with echoes of Fleetwood Mac flitting from aching violins to groove-laden staccato lead guitars and back again. It’s not the world’s most accessible debut, but don’t let that put you off – there’s so much to dive into and enjoy here, a genuine close-your-eyes-and-float-away offering that rewards deep listens in kind. Albums as thoughtful and intricately crafted as this come around all too rarely. Take this opportunity to wander from the path and lose yourself in Living Body’s deep, dark woods.