Full Body, Always There (Five Kill Records) – ALBUM REVIEW #11
BIO: Full Body own their name. The Rochester, NY quartet play a robust breed of gangly rock music that lurches in the intersection between impatient slowcore, gnarled shoegaze, and noisy post-hardcore. The band introduced their dynamically sensitive appeal on their ambitious 2017 debut, What’s Good?, a record that threaded needly guitar licks through a thick fabric of bashing drums and distinctly scratchy vocals.
Once Always There hit our inbox, we did our homework. We have to admit that we weren’t too impressed with Full Body’s first tracks from What’s Good and Smart Martian. How times have changed!
Don’t be scared by the rushed “noise rock” categorization, Full Body delivers here a palatable and digestive experience. Entrée, plat, dessert.
With Always There, Full Body succeeded in crafting tasty and relevant compositions for both newbies on the scene and seasoned musicians (and even technicians). The Rochester quartet only left us with one luxurious anxiety: the fear of musical abandonment in the future.
Full Body, Always There: our track-per-track review:
Small Voice (Still)
Small Voice is a blessing for us since we miss At The Drive-In and Deftones quite terribly. Egoisitically, we found the antidote. The song is not continuously heavy, but includes a growing tension (and tension release) that will make you plunge right in those golden years.
Looked At The Picture
OUR FAVORITE. Wise single choice. Visually speaking, the song in a pinball game. You’ll see lights, you’ll feel accelerations, you’ll glimpse hopes and victories. The song is 1’50 but is great free NASA training. Watch out, Alyssa Carson.
Alias
The last quarter of the song is what really matters with Alias. Effective math rock touch for the pleasure of the usual (and understood) fret wanking haters. Colorful guitar tones here.
Hard Drive
Hard Drive is a safe place. Warm. Emotional. Comforting. Break glass and press play, even in absence of emergency.
Faith Caught
Most pleasant and energizing guitar solo of the entire album. Most captivating chords progression too.
Bad Screen
Simply beautiful. Effortless complexity. Indescribable race against the clock. Best engineered track of Always There.
Sonic Bloom
Catchy, but yet repetitive once compared to what the other tracks used to make us appreciate. Outstanding drumming either way.
Always There
A surgical experience. Meticulous, vital, soothing. One of the greatest endings we’ve heard this year.
Full Body, Always There, available since Oct. 18 here (digital, CD, cassette).
CREDITS
All songs written and arranged by Full Body. Lyrics written by Dylan Vaisey.
At the time of recording, Full Body was:
Dylan Vaisey: vocals, guitar, bongos, additional samples/sounds
Jacob Kotler: guitar
Kyle Beam: bass
Jack Chaffer: drums
Zach Hallenbeck: harmony vocals
Josh Lesser: lead guitar on track 8
Written by Marc Louis-Boyard for Slow Culture.
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