Bodies of Water

Bodies of Water
Twist Again (Thousand Tongues,2011)

ko voli The Walkabouts atmosferu...










Twist Again, is LA band Bodies of Water’s third full-length release, and it is an assuredly confident affair, spanning a variety of musical styles. David Metcalfe’s noir-baritone sounding at times strikingly similar to that of Nick Cave, in both tone and delivery, especially on ‘New Age Nightmare’. Wife Meredith’s own vocals provide a counterpoint of beautifully soulful mellifluousness that sound simultaneously sweet and worldly. The husband-wife relationship at the core of the band creates a wonderfully balanced male/female dynamic, and is no doubt responsible for the amazing feeling of intimacy within their songs – it feels like the group are asking you to draw closer to the fire so they can sing you songs and tell you stories.

The generous instrumentation of the album, pared with faultless recording and mixing, creates an amazingly warm and full sound in which nothing dominates or disappears. There’s a lot going on, but nothing is extraneous, and every instrument feels needed. As well as hints of Nick Cave, there are touches Arcade Fire here, but only faint suggestions – their style is very much their own. It’s intelligent pop music – genuinely complex and emotive, but at the same time wonderful to listen to, and with a sense of universality. It is filled with darkness and history, beauty and light – these songs could be new or one-hundred years-old.