New Irish act deliver patchy but promising debut album
Bodies frontman David Anthony McGeown channels his grief over a late friend and wrestles with his own demons on this patchy debut album.
He’s assembled a line-up which includes members of fellow Irish acts Blooms, Kid Karate, Squarehead, and Overhead, The Albatross and with Kodaline’s "musical director" David Prendergast behind the desk, Drench moves through the gears competently if unspectacularly.
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Vaguely folky textures and the occasional burst of grungy guitar dominate and there is no doubting the emotional heft of these heartfelt songs about loss, depression and friendship. McGeown’s fumbling and hesitant vocals add to a sense of isolation and wounded solipsism before eventual redemption.
The likes of I’m Waiting and Nightmoves are dark shots of melancholia and angst, while the rhythmic Limbs recalls Bleach era Nirvana, with McGeown delivering a throat-shredding howl worthy of Cobain or Vedder.
However, it’s strange that Bodies have chosen to hide their best songs in the bonus tracks section of the album, with the more experimental Hidden and the possibly tongue in cheek Thin Lizzy style wig out Secrets revealing a far more interesting and inventive side to the band.
Alan Corr @corralan
