The hardcore scene has been full of a deafening buzz around Show Me The Body’s fourth full-length release, Trouble The Water. If this is your introduction to the band, think hardcore punk but with banjos, and add in a few elements from hip-hop and sludge metal. Intrigued? You’re right to be. Known as one of the fiercest live bands on the scene, Trouble The Water sees them reach new heights of experimentation and redefine what hardcore can be.
Album opener ‘Loose Talk’ launches straight in with those banjos. By all definitions, it feels like there shouldn’t be banjos in heavy music, but Show Me the Body make it work. Bit by bit, the track builds up with layered instruments and Julian Cashwan Pratt’s vocals, which exist somewhere between Rancid and Idles. This build-up effect appears throughout the album, becoming something of a formula for the album as a whole.
‘Radiator’ further brings in that experimental side when we hear the first glitching electronics paired with more relatively low-key vocals. It’s these moments that separate Show Me the Body from your average hardcore band and push them beyond the confines of the genre. This same sound crops up at the beginning of ‘Out Of Place’, a kind of counter-culture sci-fi soundtrack as the synths build up to match Pratt’s vocals before launching into the full-force attack of ‘Boils Up’. With ‘Radiator’, ‘Out Of Place’ acts as interludes that give ‘Trouble The Water’ an interesting dimension that keeps the record dynamic where certain tracks fall into a structural formula.
In this kind of genre, it’s easy to fall into the trap of playing at breakneck speed, but Show Me the Body really feel like they’re taking their time on this album. It gives the listener a chance to appreciate their sonic choices and lyrics, again separating them from the herd.
Reaching the end of the album, we hear the band get more playful with the genres that inspire them. Each track sounds distinct from the last, with ‘Using It’ changing up guitar tones and catchy repetitions. Even with such a wide range of influences and sounds, the band manage to keep things coherent without becoming tiresome. And just when you think you’ve heard it all, they surprise you with the near-sombre beginning of ‘WW4.’
With Trouble The Water, Show Me the Body prove themselves to be a inimitable band by going against regular punk conventions to do their own thing. No doubt, this album will kill on the live circuit, with this added experimentation enhancing their already renowned live shows.