ALBUM REVIEW: Trouble The Water – Show Me The Body
SHOW ME THE BODY‘s impact on both the hardcore scene and the New York underground has been extensive and groundbreaking. First releasing their unorthodox debut record Body War in 2016, with 31 minutes of gritty bass, metallic drums, and a banjo to top this unique cocktail of sound off while still resonating with punks worldwide through themes of anti-authoritarianism, it was evident SHOW ME THE BODY were writing the first chapter of their manifesto, fed up with the state of the art scene in a ever-gentrifying post-9/11 New York City. The next year, the band broadcasted their CORPUS Collective with a mixtape entitled Corpus I, which alongside the trio themselves showcased talent across the music spectrum such as queer noisemaker DREAMCRUSHER and modern hip-hop icon DENZEL CURRY. Alongside this mixtape, CORPUS Collective serves as a home for those out of step in the world to embrace their maximum potential, featuring artists such as COLD DECK and DOG BREATH, while hosting shows throughout New York City for the young and arrogant to stick it to authority with.
While developing this beautiful collective, SHOW ME THE BODY analogously developed their sound, releasing Dog Whistle in 2019, a record that was more constrained than their debut. It was successful at making their vision transparent, but at the expense of watering down the energy that made Body War such an exciting project to behold. Three years and a series of life-altering phenomena later, the dynamic trio present Trouble The Water, and they’ve come to release the record that encapsulates what it means to be a true punk in a New York where the word has all but lost its meaning.
The first notable factor to Trouble The Water is the length of the record. At 12 tracks and 38 minutes, this is the longest band-only effort SHOW ME THE BODY have put out thus far. This allows the trio to thoroughly flesh their concepts out in any given song while having enough time in songs to highlight a specific feature. Loose Talk opens up the record with frontman Julian Cashwan’s signature banjo plucking an eerie tune as he sings as brooding as ever before exploding into a climax that presents the general thesis of the record. This formula is followed again on the track WW4, though with a weaker introduction and a stronger climax.
Elsewhere, Radiator graces ears with glitched-out electronic noise that lets drummer and latest addition to the trio Jackie McDermott rumble through to make way for a crazed out digital hardcore tune. Adding to the rhythm section, bassist and founding member Harlan Steed brings a grit to the sound – something the band have always had, but which has never sounded quite as heavy as it does on Trouble The Water. The term “industrial” has been thrown around to describe SHOW ME THE BODY‘s sound, and while it was always valid, this is their first record that encapsulates how industrial it is to live in a city like New York.
They’ve also never been quite as heavy as they are here either, as shown on tracks such as We Came To Play, bringing out a KORN-esque breakdown midway through, and Food From The Plate having this grunge tone that reminisces of early ALICE IN CHAINS. They aren’t so musically punk-focused on this record, but the ethos of the record is more anti-authority than any meat and potatoes punk band you can find in today’s world. While the different styles are always appreciated on Trouble The Water not all of them are hits. The appropriately titled Out Of Place serves as a nice break from the madness that is the tracks before it, but outside of the context, the song doesn’t offer much else, especially clocking in at nearly four minutes. Some of the shorter songs, including Buck 50 and Using It, provide a fun time while they’re on, because who doesn’t love a quick mosh track, but get harder to distinguish outside of the record.
SHOW ME THE BODY‘s strongest tracks here are the ones that are a bit lengthier and enable their full potential to be realised, in turn making for the beefiest, most secure songs in their discography. Trouble The Water is the appropriate name for this chapter in SHOW ME THE BODY‘s discography, because there’s no time for tap dancing around the issues. This comes to an anthemic finale with the title track of the record, addressing not only all the themes on Trouble The Water, but every theme SHOW ME THE BODY has brought up since releasing their first EPs. They’ve never been afraid to stick it to authority, but more than ever, they’re preparing to push back. War is coming, and it’s time for you to pick a side.
Rating: 8/10
Trouble The Water is set for release on October 28th via Loma Vista Recordings.
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