The Crying out of Things

During the early 2020s, the boundary-pushing duo the Body changed course a bit. They reduced their setup for 2021s I’ve Seen All I Need to See, which ended up closer to death industrial and power electronics than metal, and generally left distortion behind for their collaboration with BIG|BRAVE, which consisted of interpretations of folk songs. They also ventured further into electronic music, occasionally touching on warped club music, on their albums with OAA and Dis Fig. 2024s The Crying Out of Things is acknowledged by the band as a culmination of their previous work, and it does feel like a return to the maximalism of their particularly stellar run of albums throughout the 2010s. Two elements that stand out on the release are Dan Blacksburgs majestic horn arrangements and the various secondary vocals, which range from disembodied mutterings to truly unnerving looped shrieks. Improbably, The Crying Out of Things seems like it might be the Bodys noisiest effort to date, yet even as the music attacks and scorches, theres still room for nuanced details. The incredible "Careless and Worn" buries a doom metal procession in a blitzkrieg of noise so overwhelming it nearly chokes, clearing out to cover the songs horns in dubby echo. "A Premonition" has an unsettling screech looped underneath the entire song, accelerating as the rhythm kicks into thundering breakbeats by the end. "Less Meaning" filters its chaos with choppy staccato editing, eventually crashing through in a cathartic release. Dis Fig returns on "The Building," writhing through a haunted tunnel before arriving at crunching guitars, cracking drums, and Chip Kings signature overdriven howling. The bleak, sorrowful "All Worries" seems to incorporate Gregorian chanting, building to a cinematic crest with J Mamanas string arrangements. The Crying Out of Things is a powerful high point in the Bodys massive discography. ~ Paul Simpson