The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
Every Tuesday, the Sounding Board is a space for a short-ish review of a recent-ish release and conversations about new-to-you music. We’ll get things started with a write-up about a newer, likely underheard album, and invite you to share your music musings in the comments.
While it’s reductive to describe artists’ careers in trends, tropes and generalities, if you listen to enough music, it’s impossible not to pick up on certain patterns.1
With that in mind, it feels completely fair to say that Tally, the latest long-player from Body Type,2 is an archetypical third album. It’s the sort of skin-shedding, growth-displaying LP that serves as both a sign of artistic maturation and an opportunity to do something different without totally abandoning the sound that won them fans.3 Summerteeth and To Pimp a Butterfly are two nearly universally adored versions of this trope, while Humbug by Arctic Monkeys and First Impressions of Earth by the Strokes are somewhat polarizing examples of this sort of album.4
While Body Type’s new album doesn’t reach the lofty heights of two of the best albums of the past 30 years, it manages to expand the Australian quartet’s sound without becoming a misfire or a mess. Tally adds a moodier, prettier dimension to Body Type’s music, and it manages that while avoiding the bloat that often creeps in when a band flexes its artistic muscles. At a lean 10 sub-4-minute songs, Tally motors the Australian quartet’s sound past the sugar-rush rock of its predecessors toward a more subdued, nuanced sound somewhere near the bittersweet power pop of Big Star. Big riffs and sweet vocals exist to serve and express the melancholy swirling in Tally‘s core, not to obscure it.
With two guitarists and three vocalists in the band, Body Type have the personnel to ably pull off the complexity.5 Sophie McComish and Annabel Blackman braid and trade guitar licks throughout the album. Their voices, plus the singing of bassist Georgia Wilkinson-Derums, allow for all sorts of call-and-response fun, like on the album’s ’60s girl group-inspired opening song. Harmonies and layered backing vocals are plentiful, too.
While “Gorgeous,” which lives up to its title with cascades of jangly guitar, harmonized coos and a pleasing melody, and the relatively contemplative “Mulberry,” which follows a train of thought from one purple thing to another after a bit of mauve fruit are close to Tally‘s default intensity, Body Type also carves out time for more energetic rock.
The album’s staccato title track is one example, riding a simple melody to an eventual belt-it-out crescendo capped with squealing guitar. “Planet 8,” a gloriously disheveled rocker that gains extra momentum from pounded keys, represents yet another level of intensity. These energetic bursts are among the album’s standout tracks, and they gain additional power from their staid album mates.
A whole LP of “Planet 8” would be a bit overwhelming and render its rougher nature less notable and effective. However, as a high point in a contrasting set of peaks and valleys, it’s just right and helps to make Tally the concise and pleasant surprise that it ultimately is.
About the writer
Ben Hohenstatt
Ben Hohenstatt is an Alaska-based dog owner who moonlights as a music writer and photographer.
For more information, consult your local library or with parental permission visit his website.
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The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
This week I'm breaking format to rank the albums I've written about this year.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
The Sounding Board
A weekly column where New Music Tuesdays live on. Conversation is encouraged in the comments.
Department of
Conversation
What did we watch?
Superstore, Season One, Episode Eight, “Wedding Day Sale”
“God doesn’t mistakes very often, but when he does, you have to throw them away as soon as possible.”
My partner remarked that Glenn does not support abortion.
“Well that was a good use of the last five hours.”
I’m not writing it all down but Bo’s explanation of why he has so much money was funny.
“Wha?! Two seventeen year olds are making a bad decision?”
“Congratulations on your wedding! To each other!”
“Ohhhhh!”
“She was just teaching us this fun game about how expensive and scary it is to have a baby!”
“Also, my truck has a weird odor, but you should get used to it after a couple hours.”
The old guy worker seeing the twins and not seeing them is funny.
“Gay people use the same decorations as straight people, we just use them better.”
“We’re gonna take those guy’s minds and blow them.”
“Last guy who dated me was only doing it to play chess with my dad.”
“I’ve been changing my shirts multiple times a day to cover the pit stains.”
“You can’t imagine how hard it is being stereotyped.”
“… Yes.”
“But the moustache is bad, right?”
“Strawberry blonde should not be on your face. That should be in the constitution.”
“You said I could say ‘curated’ once a week, I chose now as my time!”
This is a weird episode just for seeing Garret care about something.
“And your name is Bo Derek?”
“Coz that’s what a wedding should be. A series of curveballs.”
“I turned my SafeSearch up to the max and then searched for the world’s gayest parties!”
Having Mateo be the comic foil to someone is so funny.
“Ear to the wall. You interrupted, but, that’s what I’ll staple. Just know that.”
Twin Peaks, S2 E18 “On the Wings of Love” – I said yesterday that I remembered the show getting better once the Josie plot receded into the distance but I didn’t remember the recovery being this quick! Gordon Cole returns early in this episode and it kinda feels like everyone realised they needed to up their game again with Lynch back on set. Harry’s hangover is way more compelling than his drunken grief, Cooper and Annie are incredibly sweet together, Gordon is bewitched by Shelley, Windom Earle is deployed sparingly and everyone goes spelunking in the Owl Cave, hell yeah. My favourite moment on this watch was Ben Horne, chewing on a carrot instead of a cigar to indicate his pivot to being “good”, reaching into his jacket for a second carrot for Billy Zane. So good.
COOP!
My favourite part of the swing back to being good is seeing Coop basically come alive again after being weird and mopey for so many episodes.
I assume this is exactly the same way any American would feel if the government took their gun away.
Elementary, “Evidence of Things Not Seen” – Sherlock’s father Morland starts to make his presence known, meeting with both Sherlock and Joan (but not together), and announcing he will pull strings to get them back their gig with the NYPD. They are going to go along, but neither trusts him, and Joan discovers that charges not being filed by the DA were also Morland’s doing. John Noble plays Morland with a mix of menace and genuine (if cold) concern about his son. Meanwhile, our detectives help out the FBI with a case involving the disappearance of materials from a secret DARPA project and three murders. Interesting stuff, though the fun is from watching Holmes and Watson deal with the very different style of the feds. Oddly, the lead agent on the case is named Agent Burke. An intentional shout-out to the character of the same last name on White Collar?
The Twilight Zone, “The Four of Us Are Dying” – A solid story propelled by the right mix of actors, director, set design, and score. More to come.
Barney Miller, “Experience” – After lagging way behind chasing a perp, Fish is ready to retire two years early. But when an anti-government “mad bomber” leaves his next package in the squad room, it’s Fish who finds it and thinks to put it in the safe. The show is still getting its footing, to the degree that we have a completely different Black cop than Ron Glass. This one introduces Jack DeLeon as Marty Morrison, a gay thief who will be around the squad room a lot. He’s fairly stereotypical, but will ultimately be treated fairly well and even have one of the first gay relationships on TV.
I’m a week behind on Twilight Zone but might see if I can fit in a double-bill tonight.
Tales from the Crypt, “The Man Who Was Death” and “All Through the House”
Strong start to the series in “The Man Who Was Death,” with a theatrical, Southern-fried William Sadler as an electric chair operator handling his obsolescence badly. (It’s hilarious to me that throwing the switch seems to have been his sole job at the prison.) As in a lot of EC tales, the ultimate ending is obvious, but Sadler’s nastiness–the concentrated, embodied meanness of his profession, which the world sanctions but prefers to ignore–makes for a vivid journey.
Then “All Through the House” blows the roof off the place by being a taut Christmas murder and home invasion story with a central character who is human enough for her situation to evoke real terror. And good problem-solving with that attempted Santa framing, Mary Ellen Trainor! Larry Drake, Dr. Giggles himself, makes an absolute meal out of his part even though he’s spending most of it leering and salivating but not actually talking: more heavyset menaces, please, because Drake knows exactly how to use his physique to his advantage.
I fully recognize that a radio announcement about an escapee from a hospital for the criminally asylum is technically drenched in ableism, but it also takes me right back to the beloved sleepover scary stories of my youth, so I still have a soft spot for the trope.
Oh, Sadler is so great here and it makes the 180 of his goodness in Demon Knight even better. Walter Hill’s episodes really…KILL it. Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!
Heh, I know what you mean on the last part.
Tales From The Crypt, “Deadline” – Walter Hill directing, Steve Bartek scoring, this is a good ‘un, a seedy noir that any freelancer will recoil at and understand. Richard Jordan (who I somehow immediately clocked as a stage actor, some people have those kinds of faces) is a drunk freelance reporter desperate for a scoop, a drink, money, hell, everything. It’s the kind of episode that is about misogyny and simultaneously revels in it like a lot of noir; I think it needed a minute or so longer to have a bigger impact and that denouement nevertheless packs a punch.
What did we listen to?
Reload, Metallica
What can I say? It’s Metallica. It’ll really get interesting when I get to St Anger.
Vs., Pearl Jam
Decided I’m also going through Pearl Jam because Nath brought up a week or so back (or, well, two or three weeks at time of publishing) that their sound got really weird over their lifetime. This is just a fraction weirder than Ten, being rock plus other shit, but that’s exactly my groove, so I had a good time.
Trans, Neil Young
Wow, Young dived into the Eighties with both feet, didn’t he? This doesn’t work, but I admire the commitment, particularly because his powerful songwriting is still incredibly audible.
1001 Albums, etc. (missed this thread last week, playing catchup)
Queen Latifah – All Hail the Queen: I’ve encountered The Queen in acting roles and the occasional single but I was surprised how strong this album was as a whole. It feels a lot more “modern” than a lot of the other hip-hop stuff that has turned up on the list so far and her lyrics are consistently witty with some strong guest spots too.
Spacemen 3 – Playing with Fire: loved this. I never clicked with Spiritualized really so never got around to digging back into Spacemen 3, but this was much more to my tastes, especially when it’s slow and dreamy. Definitely going onto my “play this more” list.
fIREHOSE – fROMOHIO: Mike Watt’s post-Minutemen project, this was fine but feels like an odd indie-rock selection for a book that excludes a bunch of stuff that is way more influential. But it was enjoyable, whatever.
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique: I don’t think I’ll ever warm to the Beastie Boys vocal style but the sampling / production here is pretty cool.
The Young Gods – L’eau Rouge: pretty funny that this band, who named themselves after a Swans song and sound a lot like Swans, make the list and Swans do not. Do not question the list. I didn’t really care for this but the mix of industrial production and occasional spots of European folk music was kinda interesting.
John Zorn – Spy vs Spy: oh no, absolutely not. Abrasive blasts of high-speed jazz, not for me at all.
The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses: a band with a few undeniable bangers, but I’ve never really warmed to them at album length. This is pretty good but if I was going to become a fan then it would have happened 30 years ago.
Neneh Cherry – Raw Like Sushi: a little front-loaded, since it starts with Buffalo Stance (one of my favourite pop songs ever) and then Manchild which is also great. The rest of the album is enjoyably spiky and fun though.
Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck – Djam Leelii: laid-back African pop music, excellent music for a sunny afternoon. Not quite as immediately appealing as some of the more upbeat African music I’ve heard but consistently appealing.
Kate Bush – The Sensual World: not as immediate as “Hounds of Love” but another intriguing, rich art-pop album. “Deeper Understanding” is a cool song that has aged surprisingly well for an 80s song about computers.
The Cure – Disintegration: I had it in my head that I’d tried this album before and not really gotten into it, but maybe that’s not accurate as this is a pretty good distillation of the band’s strengths and still has plenty of jangly hooks despite the gloomy tone. Really good.
808 State – 90: really enjoyable electronica, which hits a nice spot where it feels danceable but isn’t too intense for relaxed listening. Can see myself returning to this as work music.
Coldcut – What’s That Noise?: sample-heavy pop music, I was familiar with The Hit (“People Move On”) but enjoyed the playful way these songs were constructed.
Barry Adamson – Moss Side Story: an odd “soundtrack to a non-existent movie” album from the bassist from Magazine. Like a lot of real soundtracks, it felt a little empty listening without any matching visuals so, uh, good work Barry?
Aerosmith – Pump: some big tunes here, I had their “Big Ones” compilation in my early years of music exploration and thought the appeal here might be mostly nostalgia, it was more than just that though. A really good evolution of their sound without yet being as overblown and ridiculous as they would become.
Pixies – Doolittle: Surfer Rosa didn’t really live up to my memories of it for some reason but this album was the opposite, so good. As much as I love raw production, a little extra polish here works wonders.
Bonnie Raitt – Nick of Time: absolutely godawful – sandwiching this between Pixies and Fugazi feels like a cruel joke. Ponderous country-pop songwriting with no edge or personality, there’s no universe where I “needed” to hear this.
Fugazi – Repeater: shouty gruff-voiced punk has never been my thing really but Fugazi do it so well, they are the exception. The shout-along angry choruses here are great and the riffs and arrangements are consistently interesting.
Soul II Soul – Club Classics Vol. One: pleasantly tasteful soul-pop, I knew the singles and everything else was in a very similar mode. A little “musical wallpaper” perhaps but never unpleasant.
—
Screen Drafts, Joe Dante – boo, Matinee was too low. A fun filmography to discuss though.
Blank Check, Wall-E and The Odyssey – fun episodes, some good robot chat made me keen to fit in a Wall-E rewatch sometime soon. Odyssey chat was enjoyable but without any revelations, as I guess the new-release episodes tend to be.
I was amused by the synchronicity of my wife choosing Piranha for this weekend right as I was in the middle of listening to the Joe Dante draft.
I wondered if that was linked! It’s funnier that it’s a coincidence.
I love The Stone Roses yet they strike me as a band you get into at a certain age, not later.
Floyd Collins – Yes, there is a musical by Adam Guettel about Floyd Collins, the cave explorer who got trapped and died, and it totally works, warts and all, especially because Guettel is an adventurous and experimental songwriter. He’s mixing bluegrass and country and classical music structures – there are TONS of melody and structural changes that catch you off guard compared to other book musicals – and the result is only catchy once you give it a listen or two. Just check out “The Riddle Song” which Sondheim put on a list of songs he wished he’d written: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTAgxoSbLSU&pp=ygUhZmxveWQgY29sbGlucyBtdXNpY2FsIHJpZGRsZSBzb25n
The Baker’s Wife – Stephen Schwartz musical. Pretty, prettttaayyyy, pretty good, though unbearably French sometimes.
I considered a couple of other LPs for the Sounding Board this week:
Cheekface – Podium
Past Sounding Board material Cheekface’s new album is out today. I really liked it, but I really like this band in general. It’s the band’s angriest, most political album, but there’s still a handful of goofy, catchy nonsense songs for people who prefer that side of this DIY, cult band.
Standouts for me were “Hostile Street,” “Peanut Butter Prawns,” “Black Site,” and the three-song run that wraps the LP up.
Waterparks – Jinx
I saw that this LP included a Danny Elfman feature and had to check it out. I strongly disliked the theatrical blend of quasi-rap, mall punk and hardcore that comprises this album. The tunes and the attempts at humor really grated, so I’m going to chalk it up as an album that’s simply not for me.
Oh and the new Charli XCX album,
Music, Fashion, Film.
I’ve been a fan since her first LP came out when I was in college and she continues to make pop music that’s smarter and weirder than it needs to be.
That continues on this album which plays with grungy rock aesthetics to close the curtains on an unlikely imperialist phase for Charli, who had hits but nothing like the success of Brat across the first decade and change of her recording career.
I admire the album’s candid discussion Charli’s anxiety as she launches an acting career and the pressure she feels to be a good partner in a fledgling marriage. I’m also going to automatically be in favor of any album gutsy enough to end with a sample of David Cronenberg describing the oblivion of death as a triumphant, permanent freedom.
It’s an odd, slight album that will probably represent a fascinating pivot point when it’s time for Charli XCX career retrospectives, but I generally enjoyed it.
Cronenberg sample you say? Intriguing.
I’d be proud of that headline!
Year of the Month update!
And for August, send us your pieces on any of these movies, albums, books, etc. from 2001!
TBD: James Williams: Millennium Actress
Aug. 2nd: Tristan J. Nankervis: Ocean’s Eleven
Aug. 7th: Gillian Nelson: Recess: School’s Out!
Aug. 14th: Gillian Nelson: The Princess Diaries
Aug. 16th: Tristan J. Nankervis: Mulholland Drive
Aug. 21st: Gillian Nelson: Disney’s California Adventure
Aug. 27th: Cori Domschot: The Mummy Returns
Aug. 28th: Gillian Nelson: Walt Disney Treasures
And there’s still time to write about any of these movies, albums, books, etc. from 1979.
Jul. 28th: John Bruni: All That Jazz
Jul. 29th: Lauren James: Ghost Story
Jul. 31st: Gillian Nelson: Big Thunder Mountain