Natural History
With their never-ending chaotic rhythms, Dope Body sound as if they could rattle themselves apart at any moment, making *Natural History* so riveting. The most violent jam, “Beat,” is a noise rocker built atop battering bass and robotic drums, while “Out of My Mind”—grungy post-hardcore that gradually morphs into brutally percussive prog—is a close second. The band also offers up a clutch of killer hooks throughout, and Andrew Laumann’s slurred yowls surf on surging waves of fuzz in “Weird Mirror.”
Primal hardcore thrash vibes, ya'll gotta sit with this Natural History! A spasm of styles and directions, showering sparks from a half-melted mad thickness — welcome to the fold, boys!
The Baltimore noise-rock quartet's sophomore album, their first for Drag City, finds them softening their sound but still nailing the sweet spot between savagery and self-awareness.
This Baltimorean quartet alternate between a slurring, droney development of Albini-style math rock, all grinding bass, delayed vocals and brutally clear percussion; and a playful, tongue-in-cheek take on hardcore punk, with plenty of jaunty basslines and frantically escalating power chords. On tracks like Powder, the harmonised lead guitars even reach towards something like hair metal, although the guttural vocals always keep things anchored at a scuzzier level.