UNCOMPROMISING. If that word causes concern, stop reading right now. Portland’s The Body are back with their 8th album (not counting a mass of collaborations), The Crying Out Of Things. The duo of Chip King (guitars/vocals) and Lee Buford (drums/programmer) specialise in some of the most extreme music imaginable. A relentless combination of waves of heavy distortion of largely unidentifiable instrumentation will truly push the tolerance of the listener. I guess that’s largely the appeal of this band. Just how much painful noise can you take? I do have to ask the question, does anyone get much reward after being subjected to it?
A warped voice intoning unidentifiable words over a pounding beat announces the arrival of opening track ‘Last Things’. The main groove, for want of a better word, drops and that’s when you first encounter Chip’s “vocals”. Amounting to an ear-piercing monotone shriek, so heavily treated with effects as to kill off any semblance of normal singing. If you can tolerate this, then you’re a fan of The Body, I’ll try and write this review from that perspective. The track drives and drones on before ending in a fury of heavy distortion like a never-ending run of heavy bombs detonating. ‘Removal’ opts for a dubby bass groove that slithers and slides, albeit devoid of melody. When the final clattering percussive avalanche hits, its actually quite a relief as there’s now a reason to listen to this again.
I do love drums that have been put through distortion effects pedals so much that end up a blur of shaking static, and The Body push the limits with the extraordinary beat on ‘Careless and Worn’. There’s a semblance of a hook with a siren toned brassy synth before Chip takes over proceedings with hellish shrieks. If Ministry managed to get REALLY nasty then the deep dubby bass, filthy distorted beat and looped voices of ‘A Premonition’ might be the end result. With the less is more approach, this track actually allows the listener to catch a breath and relax a little. That’s up until the track knocks it up a notch with a slamming hip-hop beat that is my highlight moment of this trial by sound.
A glitchy beat and scorching bass drone combine to create the caustic ‘Less Meaning’ which is possibly the most evil song I’ve ever heard. The sheer force of having EVERYTHING PUSHED UP TO 12 really tests the listener’s tolerance levels for extreme noise. The final minute of this track is absolutely fucking brutal. ‘The Citadel Unconquered’ merges with the previous track and slides the groove down in tempo before stripping away all the cacophony leaving just a clanging electro beat. The first words you can hear are spoken from a man who seems to be on the edge, “I had a wife and kids, they meant nothing to me…I had life, it means nothing to me”. This is pretty bleak stuff, but I refer you back to the first word of my review.
‘End of Line’ comes as some form of respite as the loops don’t sound as painful and there’s actual chord work going on with the synths. The beats don’t get the treatment until halfway through when Chip joins the throng. ‘The Building’ starts like a giant mechanoid wasp battering off your window. Female vocals slither underneath the squelching drones. Still as unsettling. When Chip appears, the track expands into a brilliant dubby groove as the drums get twitchy and there’s almost a semblance of melody to latch onto. Alas, this is whipped away before you get too comfortable.
The final track ‘All Worries’ nods to that old 90s hit from Enigma that had the monks chanting on it. The pace is funereal, the drums low key and there’s a mournful synth playing an actual melodic chord sequence. Before long the tortured vocals rise up and you feel a deep unease that things are going to explode again. Mercifully, the track actually fades without resorting to a violent attack, yet the listener won’t be feeling any less relief for that.
This album takes no prisoners in terms of the sheer ferocity of the noise The Body generate. I find myself wanting to challenge how far I can go with extreme noise, and I honestly think this is the nadir. I’ve never heard an album as vile, nihilistic and downright punishing. It’s my first foray to listening to The Body, I’d heard of them, but not actually listened to them. This album doesn’t bring about any urge within me to try anything else from their back catalogue. It’s fair to say this album is really for fans of The Body, for they know what they’re getting into. Seriously UNCOMPROMISING.
