This week was another tepid set of new releases, if I’m being nice. Highly Suspect have completely forgotten how to write songs and “The Midnight Demon Club” is bad. That is all I have to say.
Rock isn’t totally dead though. Show Me the Body have returned to save the day (or at least this week’s post). Before we get to them, a couple honorable mentions:
Gus Dapperton does most of the heavy lifting on easy life’s latest single “ANTIFREEZE”. The band has leaned heavily on features with all of their singles so far, and while it’s worked, it does make me dubious of their upcoming album “Maybe in Another Life”, which was recently delayed to October 7th. Kevin Abstract and Benee can’t be on every song. For now at least, I’m enjoying this slick, synth heavy single.
“Hurricanes” was the final single before Rina Sawayama’s sophomore LP “Hold the Girl” dropped this morning. It’s the best single yet, not that that’s saying much. It’s a mid-2000’s Kelly Clarkson-esque, slightly overblown pop anthem. Decent hook. I’m really hoping the deep cuts on “Hold the Girl” are more interesting than the singles.
Favorite New Track of the Week: “We Came to Play” by Show Me the Body
Show Me the Body’s last album “Dog Whistle” was probably my 2nd favorite record of 2019.
There have been loose singles and the 3 song “Survive” EP since then, but I’ve been eager for a full-length follow-up.
Well this week the NYC hardcore outfit announced their new record “Trouble the Water” will be out on October 28th. “We Came to Play” is the 2nd single in the release cycle, following on from “Loose Talk” which dropped back in July.
“Loose Talk” is fine. Didn’t really grab me.
“We Came to Play”, true to the title, is a lot more energetic and dynamic. Show Me the Body have never been a band that likes to beat around the bush, and this single is no exception.
The song is straightforward, harsh and immediate. Some grimy production has the drums and guitars feeling particularly heavy, especially towards the end of the track. Lead vocalist Julian Cashwan Pratt is half gargling nails, half preaching as per always.
A lot of people will hear Show Me the Body and just hear ‘screamo’, which is a real shame because the band has some genuine skill when it comes to crafting a song.
At a runtime of only 2:15, “We Came to Play’ still manages to have solid structure, satisfyingly building up to an explosive finish, all while establishing the ‘they don’t belong here’ refrain early enough to recognize it as the refrain.
It doesn’t seem like “Trouble the Water” will be treading much new ground for Show Me the Body but, hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Favorite Old Track of the Week: “Thieves Like Us” by New Order
Like anyone else, I have gaps in my popular music knowledge.
I know Joy Division’s discography pretty well. New Order – not so much. Everyone on the planet has heard “Blue Monday”. Not much else from the band has gotten to me though.
So much so that I was today years old when I learned New Order was formed from the surviving Joy Division members.
Joy Division is a bit more on brand for me, but I’ve been listening to more dance music than ever before in the last couple years. Product of the pandemic I guess.
Calling New Order a dance outfit is a bit of a stretch (I think? See above). Bernard Sumner & co. certainly had a much brighter, bouncier, dance-inclined output as New Order as opposed to the melancholic post-punk of Joy Division.
I like to have as few non-country music gaps in my knowledge as possible though. Looks like it’s time to fill another.
I found myself down this little rabbit hole because of “Thieves Like Us”, one of the many incredibly inoffensive but solid songs that play where I work.
The song leans heavily on synths and feels very programmed – in a good way. Paired with the boyish vocals of Sumner there’s a classic coming-of-age movie tone to the song I really like without feeling cheesy as a lot of 80’s music in this vein does.
Lyrically I’m not blown away. Even I know that’s not really what you come to a New Order record for. ‘It belongs to everyone but us’ – of course in reference to love – is a nice line to close at least.
I don’t know how deep I’m going to dive into the New Order discography. It’s a fairly shallow pool, with only 6 albums of consequence to their name it seems.
Maybe I’m missing out on what could be some of my favorite music. Maybe between this song and “Blue Monday” I’ve heard everything I’ll care about. You never know when you’re going back and educating yourself on music you weren’t around for, and that’s half the fun. If it’s the 1st possibility, I’ll let you know.
Jaxson Mannes Writes 