No One Deserves The Body

Surprise surprise, The Body are back and as cheerless and dire as ever. You thought I Shall Die Here was the nadir of their nihilistic loathing? Their new album, out on Thrill Jockey next month, is called No One Deserves Happiness. And judging their work alongside Thou and Wrekmeister Harmonies, it’s more than likely that the duo will push the black envelope further out into the void (they are quoted as saying they want this record to be the grossest pop album of all time). ‘Shelter Is Illusory’ shows off their new tangent in all its misery-inducing glory – the synthetic handclaps, the soaring production, the calibrated, pummelling drums. It feels windswept, a dark chasm with smoke machines and a toga-flailing Syren calling forlornly across eternity. Finding new ways to hate and self-flagellate.

The Body are hitting Europe in April, see below for details (London’s show is at Electric Brixton on the 13th - with Converge no less! Get tix here).

06. 04. 2016 - Vera, Groningen, Netherlands *

07. 04. 2016 - Magasin 4, Brussels, Belgium *

08. 04. 2016 - Het Bos, Antwerp, Belgium *

09. 04. 2016 - Ritual fest @ Canal Mills, Leeds, UK ** 

10. 04. 2016 - Audio, Glasgow, UK * 

11. 04. 2016 - The Rainbow Cellar, Birmingham, UK * 

12. 04. 2016 - The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, UK * 

13. 04. 2016 - Electric Brixton, London ^ 

14. 04. 2016 - Roadburn Festival, Utrecht, Netherlands ^^ 

16. 04. 2016 - KB18, Copenhagen, Denmark *

17. 04. 2016 - Kantine Am Berghain, Berlin, Germany *

18. 04. 2016 - Klub 007, Prague, Czech Republic *

19. 04. 2016 - Feierwerk, Munich, Germany *

20. 04. 2016 - Jubez, Karlsruhe, Germany *

21. 04. 2016 - Gaswerk, Winterthur, Switzerland *

23. 04. 2016 - Sidecar, Barcelona, Spain *

24. 04. 2016 - Moby Dick, Madrid, Spain * 

25. 04. 2016 - Musicbox, Lisbon, Portugal *

26. 04. 2016 - Cave 45, Porto, Portugal *

27. 04. 2016 - Santana 27, Bilbao, Spain *

28. 04. 2016 - Le Saint Des Seins, Toulouse, France *

29. 04. 2016 - La Mecanique Ondulatoire, Paris, France *

30. 04. 2016 - Tivoli De Helling, Utrecht, Netherlands *

w/

* Full of Hell (co-headline)

** Conan, 40 Watt Sun, Full of Hell

^ Converge/Bloodmoon, Full of Hell, 40 Watt Sun

^^ Converge, Cult of Luna, Paradise Lost, Full of Hell

Torch(e)ing It All, Relapsing, Restarting

The list of musical acts that I have missed seeing because I wasn't in Australia at the time is an understandably small yet strangely bizarre one. Acts that I should have seen a number of times in the UK and Europe have inexplicably passed me by. While my greatest miss - Neil Young in 2009 - has been rectified a few times now, I am yet to catch the likes of Iceage (although friends often tell me I'm not missing much), Sleep and Sunn O))). I can now add Torche to this list after they tore up the continent last October. At least I can console myself in the knowledge that their upcoming album, Restarter, comes out next month and is already gearing up to be a huge one. The pulverizing riffs that open up new single 'Annihilation Affair' are terrifying in the power that rises in the chest when it hits you - it's "listening to Part Chimp for the first time and involuntarily relaxing all sphincters of your body" good. And like Part Chimp (and Helms Alee for that matter), these Miami veterans have always treated their masterful take on destruction as being hilarious as much as apocalyptic, which makes it all the more an orgiastic epiphany when the titanic tides burst the banks and blow you away in the last moments. Restarter is Torche's first album on Relapse, and has been mixed by Converge's Kurt Ballou too. Grin plastered, ears blasted - all boxes have been firmly checked.

Pre-order Restarter here - plenty of excellent vinyl options too, including green/purple merge, black with etching, a picture disc, and glow in the fucking dark.