The Body - The Crying Out of Things (2024)

The Body have been a leading force of innovation in heavy music for over two decades. The prolific duo of guitarist/vocalist Chip King and Lee Buford (on percussion/electronics) have consistently expanded the scope of what heavy music can be. The Body has produced a wealth of groundbreaking collaborations and benchmark albums that over the past 2 decades have changed the perceptions and directions of heavy music. Known for the monolithic force of their music, and their inventive production techniques, their albums are benchmarks in the expansion and evolution of heavy music. Tightly packed with deceptively nuanced arrangements, exhilarating and challenging distortion, their albums are possessed of an unmistakably singular sound. The Crying Out of Things is no exception, a culmination of all that The Body have done before, highlighting their mastery of dynamic, monumental music that pushes toward the unmistakable sound of oblivion.

From the band’s origins, incorporating unorthodox methods to achieve an oppressive atmosphere has been essential to their alchemy. Full choirs, unexpected sound samples, 70s-inspired horn lines, dub drum beats and diverse guest performances have speckled their varied and eclectic repertoire, the common thread being a complex webs of distortion and noise. The Crying Out of Things harnesses elements from their ground breaking catalog: the expansive ecstatic distortion and live energy of I’ve Seen All I Need To See, the ambitious layering and arrangements on I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer, and the corroded pop edge of No One Deserves Happiness into one compact work. Guest performances include vocalist Ben Eberle, horn player Dan Blacksburg, and recent collaborator Felicia Chen add essential textural range. The Crying Out Of Things makes clear The Body’s distinct power to convey a dark range of emotions, thought inventive arrangements, dynamics, and sound selections.

The album’s embrace of noise is a comprehensive display of the multitude of expressions possible with abrasive sound, a skill that The Body have pioneered and refined. “I think for us the key to the way we use noise is, it’s not the only element,” says Buford. “You’ve gotta really listen if you’re into noise. But it also has to have dynamics. Where, say, BIG|BRAVE (who have a similar ethos) expresses it in this more intellectual, minimalist way, The Body comes from an instinctual, maximalist way. We’re trying to cover it ALL.” There’s a delicate equilibrium to the compositions and momentum to each song on The Crying Out of Things. 808 kick drums and dissonant horns add clarity and punch to the chaos on “Last Things,” a reimagined version of a song from their A Home on Earth EP. “Removal” does slow-motion twirls of dubby drums and echoing samples before being subsumed in a droning throng. “A Premonition” and “The Building” act as bracing odes to the duo’s love of hip hop and R&B with undeniable grooves where “Less Meaning” stands as one of the band’s most aesthetically punk songs, an uptempo wreckingball emboldened by glitches and tambourine. The focus of distortion shifts across instruments and sections with subtle precision, embellishing hulking drums one moment and the shriek of King’s voice the next. By weaving subtleties into the fabric of each piece, The Body creates starker contrasts and more extreme swings of emotional weight from one instant to the next.

The Body stand alone in their ability to connect disparate influences and collaborators into a wholly original, potent and singular work. Alongside producer/engineer Seth Manchester, the duo’s voracious and omnivorous musical appetites have pushed the studio as an instrument into new avenues to conjure profound feelings from the music. The Crying Out of Things cements The Body’s place as a leader of heavy new music, their boundless creativity, their defining ability to convey anguish, created with a visceral clarity to devastating impact.