Just reading that Rhode Island noise rock duo The Body had a new album on the way gave me serious palpitations. I reviewed their previous album The Crying Out Of Things and I’m not sure I’m over that yet. This time collaborating with Oakland experimental band Cel Genesis, I tentatively pressed play on the title track ‘Whole Wide World’. You see, I love drums, so I was immediately intrigued when the blurb accompanying the announcement revealed that the album features not one but two drummers, recording live together. Initially I recoiled in fear at the violent sounds, yet ultimately, I could not resist the challenge of writing about this album.
Bizarrely for what sounds like the end of times in places, drummers Lee Buford and Nick Cowman had fun making the record, even playing on after one of the tracks had finished recording for the craic. Recorded at Machines with Magnets by Seth Manchester over a two year period the evolution of the album took place over multiple recording sessions. Some songs were built on the electronic soundscapes Cel Genisis created, others were allowed to form directly from percussive creativity.
Opener ‘Ghost’ might start with a calming chant but the explosion of noise that ignites the fuse is startling. Startled is the default setting for what you are about to receive. Making Nine Inch Nails sound like Westlife there’s a bilious throb that worms its way over the thunderous drums as our vocalists duel for who can make the most outrageous sounds. Having been previously exposed to The Body I’m almost used to Chip King’s monotonous squeals. They’re like an old friend here, pitched up against the Cel Genesis screeching. (I’m not sure whether it is Christopher Danko or Pauline Poderoso so will collectively call their vocal contributions as Cel Genesis).
‘Whole Wide World’ actually feels kinda groovy with a warbling bass line over some booming drums. Leaning in with a blood curdling yelp of “YOU FUCKERS!! DISTORT MY SENSE OF SELF! I’LL TAKE THE WHOLE WORLD WHEN I GO!!!” you feel utter rejection of everything you know. Yet, despite this newfound layer of doom, there is a pleasing serenity that someone has made music to match how you can feel in this world today. I think I can finally say, I GET what these artists are doing. ‘Negative Sum’ fuses skittery jungle drums over an industrial hum before pounding the living shit out of your head with crushing drums and a murderous cacophony of distorted STUFF, accompanied with screams and screeched vocals. When the track ebbs to silence, the shout of “GO!” triggers an ensuing noise that reminds me of that final battle in Game of Thrones when the Dothraki charge into the darkness.
Finally, almost friendly voices emerge, albeit wildly twisted, and you sense intense noise is not far away. ‘Memories’ doesn’t feel so violent as funereal drums weigh heavy along with a seismic drone. Nah, fuck that. As the drums become monstrous and every thud pushes hard into your skull, the ghostly voices return. It reminds me of the start of The God Machine’s classic ‘Home’. By this stage, the chill that I feel is genuinely unsettling, but this engaging music really draws you in. I don’t know what eviscerated means and I ain’t looking it up. Instead, I will let ‘To Be Eviscerated’ wash over me and see how I feel by the end of it. Ah, the cacophony that gets cooked up is probably the most dissonant and disgusting of all the tracks here. The distortion levels will have you adjusting your equalisers for mercy.
Perversely in the midst of all this nihilism you find yourself faced with a song called ‘Candy Crush’. You know that in the hands of these protagonists they’ve no intention of being sweet. The quietest of all the tracks, the electronics rain hard as the drums finally take a break. Until the nuclear eruption in the middle of the song. Brutal. Truly the sound of the apocalypse. Why not finish it off with some pounding techno? So, they do just that inventing a new genre along the way.
Icy synths slide up alongside you in ‘Remind Me’ offering a little respite and dare I say, hope? That ends abruptly with a sturdy percussive grind of thunderous drums and filthy drones. Cel Genesis pop veins with a diatribe of intelligible screams. Switching to a Depeche Mode-esque drone the wavering dregs of noise fade to silence as Chip tenderly addresses the listener. One final heave of noise swings in like bombs dropping around you. Then the strangest turn takes place. Rising up the euphoric synths of album closer ‘Everything’ pinches the heart jolting you from this sonic nightmare. Like rays of sunshine breaking through the dark clouds, when I first heard this stunning track I experienced emotions like never before. My God, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As Chip returns for a final round of squeals, the anguish actually feels triumphant. There is some serious alchemy at work on this album. It is actually a work of genius.
