Brooklyn-based electro-pop outfit Body Language’s newest release, the Grammar EP, is an unapologetically poppy and deeply, deeply sexy celebration of 80’s excess. With these three songs (well, four, including the live cut of “The First”), we see a band negotiating a lust for Hall & Oates style R&B with a love for filthy, glammy electro-clash. This is a tricky balancing act, but these guys pull it off pretty gracefully.
The EP’s opening track “Lose My Head” could forgivably be mistaken for a Goldfrapp deep cut, with its buzzsaw synth tones and pure-sex sing-along chorus. The production here is simply immaculate, and like much of the rest of the record, the denseness of the instrumentation rewards repeated listens.
It’s with “The First” and “I’m a Mess” that Body Language really starts to show us the depth of their sonic palette. These cuts feature the warm bass-line grooves that defined their R&B influences, but they inject a little modern flavor with distinctly indie-rock vocal performances. I’ll go ahead and confess up front that, with the same vein of postmodern lovers’ funk, Chromeo stole my heart many years ago, so these two tracks especially caught my attention.
Review by Gabe of Indie Band Guru
-Gabe Smoller is a musician, writer, and Vassar College graduate. He lives with his Blue Heeler in Brooklyn
Amy
Fantastic review! Can’t wait to listen.