Alternative rock band Full Body makes a name for themselves with their debut album ‘Always There’. The quartet from New York burst out of the paper bag with raucous melodies, quick-fire riffs and punky spikes of anger before the album disappears after just 23 minutes.
Whilst it is easy to liken Full body to a band like Pixies, Full Body are their own entity. When playing tracks over three minutes in length, they like to wallow in the shoegaze side of rock. The guitars on the title track, ‘Hard Drive’ and opener ‘Small Voice (Still)’ bask in that slow-motion drowning. They do it really well and bring weight to every punch.
The majority of the album though is spent on quicker paced 2-minute attacks. ‘Look at the Picture’ is a screamo Foo Fighters going at 180mph. ‘Bad Screen’ a rock interpretation of two TV channels crossing over frequencies with some clever effects. ‘Alias’ meanwhile plays on the more progressive side of things. It’s funky but aggressive. Interestingly its when Full Body pull the quirky riffs from the shorter songs but move them into a longer, full-bodied track that I found everything click. ‘Sonic Bloom’ is so wonderfully early Nirvana that I fell in love on first listen. Whilst other tracks certainly have personality, this is the one for me.
It’s almost ironic that the album is over in 23 minutes but what’s here is full of charm and fun. Thankfully its brevity is also reflected in its cheaper price which is nice. There are some really promising signs here of a band that can swap gears at the drop of a hat. Whilst that will mean you will end up having favourites depending on the style you prefer, Full Body will never leave you bored.
Recommended track: Sonic Boom
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Full Body - Always There
