Shiny New Model
'Shiny New Model' sees a surprising new embrace of indie rock, though they never lose their punky edge.
Bodega scrubbed some of the rough edges off their jumpy, hyperactive dance punk sound for their 2019 EP Shiny New Model -- not enough to dull the songs' impact, just enough to help their serrated edges slide in more smoothly and deeply. The band are tighter than a bad toupee, the hooks are shinier than a disco ball, and the little bit of speed they take off the tempos gives the songs some breathing room. The title track is a fine example of how their new, more restrained approach pays off. Instead of bashing the listener and then running off madly while daring them to follow, the band and the listener lock into a simpatico groove that's set off with jangling guitars, Ben Hozie's swaggering vocals, Nikki Belfiglio's excited interjections, and some beefy guitar playing. They dial the tempos down to simmer on a few tracks -- like the almost-slinky "Treasures of the Ancient World" and the dark post-punk mood piece "Knife on the Platter" -- and that works just as well.
If you called Bodega a pretentious Brooklyn band, they'd likely just say thanks. The art-punk group lean into cultural critique with self-aw...
Small by nature but by no means lacking in physicality, might or quite literally anything and everything in-between, Shiny New Model, the self-dubbed ‘mini album’ from New York’s Bodega, is one rather large powerhouse of propulsion after burgeoning propulsion.
‘Shiny New Model’ is the new mini album from New York five-piece, BODEGA. Featuring eight tracks, it follows their critically acclaimed 2018
'Shiny New Model' by Bodega, album review by Adam Williams. The Brooklyn-based quartet's forthcoming release comes out October 11, via What's Your Rupture?