The newest release from The Body and Thou is actually a compilation of two records: the first four tracks—which surfaced last year as the vinyl-only EP, Released From Love, on Thrill Jockey—as well as six new songs, collectively titled You, Whom I Have Always Hated. As the Thrill Jockey site is careful to note, this is a collaborative project, not a split record. The creative process on this album was undertaken jointly by both bands, and the resulting sludge sound incorporates both The Body’s non-traditional, noise-oriented influences, as well as Thou’s slower, swampy side. While this record doesn’t push the boundaries of doom/sludge too much further than either band has already done, it’s still entertaining to watch them play off each other and combine their sounds.
Sometimes, it’s hard to tell when one band’s input ends and another begins, especially if one isn’t highly familiar with either of them. That’s a positive quality of this album; it seems like both bands are encouraging each other to be the absolute worst, and create the heaviest, noisiest, most-despair-ridden songs possible. This is especially evident on newer tracks like “Her Strongholds Unvanquishable” and “Beyond the Realms of Dream, That Fleeting Shade Under the Corpus of Vanity,” as well as Released from Love‘s opener, “The Wheel Weaves as the Wheel Wills.” It often sounds like five guitars are playing at once, with small breaks where mangled, damaged sounding noise suddenly takes center stage. Thou vocalist Brian Funck’s snarl takes on more of the rhythm of the song, and sounds less abrasive in comparison with The Body vocalist Chip King’s screams.
Both bands also know when to restrain their sound for effect before once again pummeling listeners with the heavier side, and they play with these dynamics often through the record. They open their cover of Vic Chesnutt’s “Coward” with King screaming almost in terror over a wasteland of crackling guitars, and the song swings into more traditional-sounding sludge only briefly. There’s a similar effect on “Manifest Alchemy,” when the song drops out under Funck at the beginning, making his twisted vocals the temporary focal point before then building up more around him. Though this effect is something both bands use in their own work, it’s just as effective here, even with a touch of predictability.
Where strength of this collaboration is most evident is on its two cover songs, where creative ideas from both bands combine to create highly original and stand-alone versions of both “Coward” and, later, Nine Inch Nails’ “Terrible Lie.” The latter shows The Body and Thou’s abilities to bury a hook underneath layers and layers of noise. We hear a crescendo of synth hiccups and drone effects (most likely thanks to The Body) that grow in volume until they’re almost obscuring Funck’s vocals, but even then, this new version of the song is catchy enough to worm its way into one’s brain in place of the original.
Last summer, I saw a collaborative live set from The Body and Thou, where I watched seven people cram themselves onto a stage and make god-tier noise together. I hoped that the two bands would be able to capture at least a small piece of the breathless energy of that live show on You, Whom I Have Always Hated / Released from Love. Luckily, the record doesn’t make me fear as much for the state of my hearing when their sheer volume starts to compound on itself. While the collaboration draws on familiar sounds and ideas, the record still reveals stylistic nuances and interactions that were blasted away during that live show, and proves that collaboration between two bands as skilled as these will always be a rewarding listen.
-Joy
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