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Review: Dope Body — Lifer

When approaching a band who have drawn the genre label of ‘noise rock’, it is often impossible to predict what sound will come out. It is a label that can sound pejorative if the noise aspect of the sound is not considered a key aesthetic of the band.

In the case of Dope Body’s new album, Lifer, the label seems to have arisen as a result of the capricious way in which the album darts between different sounds, both between and within the songs. These juxtapositions serve to give the listener a tour of the different influ- ences on the band, whether it be the clear emulation of the opening of Hendrix’s ‘Red House’ at the start of ‘Echo’, or the verse from ‘Rare Air’, which sits somewhere between Prince and Talking Heads.

At times, this jumping around has the effect of being overly frantic and alienating, though in the most direct, intense moments of the album, such as the drum solo in ‘Intro’, the music becomes unexpectedly alluring.

In these sections, the guitar work is at its most simplistic, and while the more Captain Beefheart-like riffs on tracks such as ‘Nu Sensation’ are still striking in their angular groove, their effect seems to be diluted by the frequent cutting between styles.

It is the noise that binds this album together. The lo-fi production and guitar tones serve to bind it in its stylistic variance and to give it energy. Perhaps Dope Body’s self-styled label is indeed the most appropriate one. 

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