Dope Body survey June's singles

Prior to a night of fierce sweating, Baltimore noise-rockers (and March 'Track of the Month' champions) Dope Body try to muster some love for this month’s offerings, and debate whether or not that’s a marimba in there

Feature by Gary Kaill | 04 Jun 2013

Crystal Fighters – You & I
[from the album Cave Rave, out now via Zirkulo]
Andrew Laumann (vocals): Crystal Fighters? Is that really their name? I’ve never heard of these.
Zachary Utz (guitar): Wow. They really got all bases covered there, right?! That sounds like about three different bands in one.
David Jacober (drums): This is not what a record by a band called Crystal Fighters should sound like. It’s like some TV vacation ad. It’s like, “Hey – come to Hawaii!” Too upbeat.
AL: This is really bad. (2)


Sivu – Bodies
[single out 3 June, via Third Rock]
DJ: No, I don’t like that drum sound.
John Jones (bass): You’re always looking out for the drum sound! You never like the drum sound.
DJ: So, so over-produced.
AL: Sivu? Is that what he’s called – Sivu? Mmm...
JJ: Those vocals, they’re really… oh, I don’t know. They’re not even vocals.
ZU: This has that electro sound that everyone’s doing right now.
AL: Take it off, man. (2)


Solar Year – Magic Idea
[from the album Waverly, out 24 June via Splendour]
JJ: Look at Dave listening to the drums.
DJ: Well it’s not actually drums, is it?
JJ: There’s some marimba in there, Dave.
DJ: There is no marimba!
The Skinny: Is dance music not really your thing?
AL: I like hip-hop. I listen to a lot of new hip-hop, a couple of hip-hop stations in the States. You know, we don’t really listen to much that’s like the music we play. Maybe a bit of Zeppelin, classic stuff, you know.
DJ: The dance and R‘n’B stuff around right now, it’s like, so over-produced, it’s ridiculous. It’s like a competition, who can squeeze the bass and really push everything out of the mix. But, hey, this is okay.
AL: I don’t hate it…. (4)


Marvin – Tempo Fighting
[from the album Barry, out 3 June via Africantape]
AL: Whoa! Led Zeppelin!
JJ: This is like Hendrix – but, you know, not actually good.
AL: No, no, no, no, no, no.
ZU: Who are these guys?
The Skinny: They’re from France. The press release says they’re ‘infused with the venom of The Jesus Lizard.’
AL: Really? Well, we get those kind of comparisons. Shit, we should get these guys to write our press releases!
DJ: Too much reverb.
ZU: Everybody’s using too much reverb these days.
DJ: I really like this picture of the castle on the cover. That’s definitely the best thing about it, I’d say.
The Skinny: John? You’re shaking your head again.
JJ: It’s just not good. Not good at all. (3)


Haust – No
[from the album No, out 10 Jun via Fysisk Format]
DJ: Oh shit! Is this Dave Mustaine?! Megadeth!
AL: [Mimics death metal vocal stylings] Die die die! Argh argh argh!
ZU: Where the fuck are these guys from?
The Skinny: They’re from Norway. Stalwarts of the black metal scene, apparently.
AL: Well, there you go. This is just funny, man! Who listens to this shit?
The Skinny: You’ve heard enough?
ZU: We’ve heard more than enough.
AL: Hey, we’d better find something nice to say about something soon. Deftones said something nice about our record [see the March edition of the Dozen]. We can’t look like the fucking bad guys. (0)


Arrows of Love – The Knife
[single out 3 Jun, via Urban Fox Records]
DJ: It won’t play? Let me see. You know, this doesn’t even look like a proper CD. It looks like someone just scrawled on a blank CD and stuck it in there.
AL: Do we need to hear it? Should we maybe just review it from the press release? Can I have it? [Reads bio] ‘Arguably the most suspenseful single from album Everything’s Fucked’? Mmm. OK. That’s pretty fucking cool right there.
DJ: Are they all girls?
AL: They look like all guys.
DJ: No, wait up. Two girls, two guys. I think.
ZU: I think we would have maybe liked this one.
DJ: Oh, it’s playing now? Wait. [Listens] Yeah, well maybe we should stick with what we said anyway…
The Skinny: No-one keen? [Shaking heads.] (3)


Kyte – You & I
[from the album Love to Be Lost, out 17 June via Eastworld Recordings]
AL: Kyte? With a ‘y’? OK. This is not really anything.
The Skinny: It’s their fourth album – English band.
DJ: It’s just too clean. It’s just…
ZU: Mmm. This doesn’t really do anything for me. I don’t get it.
JJ: [Shakes head] I don’t know what to say. It’s just OK but… it’s not.
The Skinny: Try another track?
AL: No. (2)


Kid A – BB Bleu
[single out 3 Jun, via Technicolour]
DJ: Seriously? Is this band really called Kid A? Do you think they know? Why would you do that? Man, this had better be really good if they’re going to make a fucking statement like that!
The Skinny: It’s a she.
DJ: Oh OK. What’s her real name? Does she have a real name?
The Skinny: Ann Alexander Thweatt. She’s American – from Virginia.
JJ: Oh, I’m from Virginia.
The Skinny: Well, maybe Kid A’s from the bad part.
JJ: Man, it’s all bad.
DJ: This isn’t great. All that electro looping, fragile female vocals.
ZU: Yeah, this is pretty obvious. You hear a lot of this.
AL: Put the next track on. [Listens] Oh that’s a little better. I like that.
The Skinny: It’s a remix. It’s the same track.
AL: Oh is it?! Shit! (3)


Brtsh Knights – If I Was To
[single out 10 Jun, via Technicolour]
AL: Can I see the press release before we hear it?
The Skinny: It might put you off.
AL: Give it to me. [Adopts cod-British accent] British… Britsh… Brtsh? ‘Brtsh Knights are nostalgic for a time of unrestrained love making and splendour and extravagance, in a faded kingdom…’ That’s pretty heavy.
DJ: See, that’s a lot more interesting than the actual record. (3)


Live Footage
[the band liked this (!), so took the CD, and because The Skinny hadn’t been awake enough to remember to note down the track and album before this happened, we don’t know what either of them were. But Live Footage are an electroacoustic duo from New York – www.livefootagebrooklyn.com – and their mysterious fourth album is out later this year]
AL: Are there any vocals?
The Skinny: I think it’s instrumental.
AL: It’s cool. Chilled. Kind of thing we’d maybe play on the bus after a gig.
DJ: It’s nicely crafted.
JJ: This is the first thing we’ve heard that makes me want to listen to another track.
DJ: It’s kinda cinematic.
JJ: This is the best one, for me. It’s well produced, well played. Can I have this? (8)


The Bevis Frond – Just Cause (Wins Wars)
[from album White Numbers, out now via Woronzow]
ZU: Oh Jesus! This is like the most ridiculously predictable guitar playing. I could tell you right now what’s gonna happen next. You can see every chord change coming.
AL: Who are these guys? The Skinny: They’re real veterans. This is their 21st album.
DJ: Their 21st album? Really? I’d expect to be a whole fucking lot better than this if I’d made 21 albums!
AL: I did not think a band called The Bevis Frond would sound like Bon Jovi.
ZU: You see, that’s not how you play guitar. How he’s putting in all those little licks and bends. That’s how I’d teach kids starting out to play guitar back home, give them something to make them sound a little cool.
AL: Not good. We definitely hate this one! (1)


TRACK OF THE MONTH:
All We Are – Utmost Good
[single out 17 Jun via Obsenic]
AL: Who’s this? All We Are? OK. I like that name. What does the bio say?
The Skinny: That they’re ‘the Bee Gees on diazepam.’
JJ: It says that? Really?
AL: Seriously, we’ve definitely got the wrong guys doing our shit!
DJ: What’s diazepam?
ZU: It’s a relaxant, like Valium.
AL: This is really nice.
DJ: I like the production. It’s got real craft.
JJ: Vocals are good. I like it.
DJ: It’s really understated, it’s good.
The Skinny: Leave it on?
AL: Yeah, leave it on. Let’s see where it goes.
The Skinny: You liked something!
ZU: We’ve been trying really hard, man. (8)

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