CD: “No” by Bodyface

New York City’s Bodyface have a new LP out entitled simply “No”! We at RR have great pleasure in reviewing this fine body of work. “The Razor” opens proceedings with a Grungey guitar intro, accompanied by dark, atmospheric vocals. A simple bass sits behind the rat-a-tat drumming. There’s a great bridge too, hard yet clangy! The almost whispered vocals in places; then becoming harsher work a treat before the abrupt ending, which is great. “The Retorax” has a hard-hitting intro and a guitar line not dissimilar to The Vines “Get Free”. The ‘muffled’ vocals remind me of “Yesterday Went Too Soon” era Feeder but the influences end there. It’s hard and harsh and it grabs you by the throat. Those wonderful chords are unmistakable in the background on this grungey, angsty cut. Once again it has a great ending.

The interestingly titled “Suck” has a guitar intro that wouldn’t be out of place on Adam and The Ants “Dirk Wears White Sox” LP. Then the soft, subtle vocals kick in. Heartfelt and honest, elevating it from ballad to “tortured love song”. Jared’s vocals range from Stoner to soft Rock on this track. I’m assuming it’s an ode to a lover, delivered as it is with brutal honesty. “Dog” has a scratchy guitar intro with hints of Irish Punk “also-rans” Compulsion. It then veers into Hardcore/Punk territory with its harder chords and great bass in the background. The twisted guitars and whispered vocals once again make this one of the standout tracks so far.

“Operator” has a simple acoustic intro that harks back to Evan Dando’s better days. A perfect 2 minute edit to catch one’s breath in the live arena perhaps? Upbeat in its simplicity it is gentle throughout. “OK” is another acoustic-led track; accompanied by a gentle, muffled vocal. Another lovesong possibly? The dark stretched chords in the middle take the tempo up a pace, before Jared’s tortured vocals kick in once more.

“It’s Hard To Be Yourself (when no one likes you)” explodes into life with a huge guitar intro, chugging along at a pace throughout. Jared ups the anger in the vocal over a frenetic drumbeat from Roger. It’s angry, it’s brutal, it’s powerful throughout. “Water” begins all delicate picking before the drums kick in. The vocals are gravelly in places on this track. It has MTV playlist written all over it (to this reviewer)! There are some neat chord changes, yet overall it remains powerful throughout. Where the working title “Water” came from though is anyone’s guess!

“Despair” returns to that soft and gentle, passionate vocal delivery once more. Again we seem to be in the ballpark of tortured lovesong. It briefly flickers into huge guitar chords near the end, if only to emphasize the subject matter. “No” flirts close to Ska/Punk with its upbeat hitting. If they’d thrown in a trumpet here or there it wouldn’t be out of place on a Less Than Jake LP! That said, it is probably the best track on here. A catchy number which one imagines is sung back to them live. This collection ends with “MRI”. It’s another great song with hints of mellow and angry in equal measure. The huge guitars and power hitting are simply great, along with the subtle chord changes yet unsubtle vocal delivery.

Bodyface have delivered a great 2nd LP with many influences here. Having been around for some 7 years they clearly like to take their time with recorded output. I would suggest this is a good policy if this LP is anything to go by. The future looks bright for these NYC boys – long may it continue!!

Band Members
Jared-Guitar/Vox
Matt-Bass
Roger-Drums/Percussion

Track Listing
The Razor
The Retorax
I Suck
Dog
Operator
OK
It’s Hard To Be Yourself (when no one likes you)
Water
Despair
No
MRI

Links
http://www.whatisbodyface.com/
http://www.facebook.com/bodyface

Review by Ross A. Ferrone