Bodies Of Water - A Certain Feeling (Secretly Canadian)
4/5
By: Sam Crawford
The shadowy vestibules of grandly imposing theatres are where Bodies of Water hide, waiting until you slovenly make your way to your seat before jumping out and shaking all the lily livered elements out of your bones.
Lavishness and drama are key ingredients in the grandeur that is contained within A Certain Feeling, and luckily the drama isn't the type you'd find in an ITV commissioned production, but more the type you'd find in the paintings of archaic battle heroes.
'Gold, Tan, Peach and Grey' slowly ushers us into the album, with beautifully layered commanding vocals, sounding like an incantation delivered to make the deceased rise. The bass and guitar enter and increase their intensity before jumping over the cliff into a crashing tirade of heady vocal bombardment and vivid array of intricately assembled parts.
'Water Here' starts like a dark soundtrack to a film noir movie, with trumpets and percussion adding a jazz element that is in a similar style to Barry Adamson. It then injects some sultry organ sounds that you could imagine hearing in a nineteen century gothic village, travelling through on horseback while sharpening your arrows.
'Under The Pines' has a Mike Oldfield feel in the melody line, with a bit of old school suspenseful rock chords that are almost Sabbath like at the beginning. The guitars then change to resemble the catchy twang of a Native American style that Powwow's could fittingly dance round to with their headdresses on. The male and female vocals sing in out in an emotional display of unison that works brilliantly.
It's refreshing to hear an album that utilises many different assets and intricate facets, but where it doesn't come across as contrived, or done for the sake of extravagance. If you were to describe what the 'Certain Feeling' of the album was, " brooding" would be a fitting word. Bodies Of Water take us on a ride through sparse atmospheric soundscapes, jarring and thrilling moments of vibrant dynamics and thoughtful poetic lyrics. I'm glad the hard work that has obviously gone into this album has paid off so well.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment