A New Brand of Noise Rock

The novelty of Dope Body’s newest album Lifer is that despite having a high-production polish, the record maintains the unhinged roughness indispensable to sincere noise rock. The influence of distortion makes itself evident from the get go; it is the effective spiritual center of the album. Lifer, however, may not assuage the voyeuristic tendencies of fans who have listened to Dope Body for the metallic and borderline schizophrenic material they have previously released. While the record rages with unforgiving volume, it considers a lighter melodic approach in the context of their discography.

One of the album’s greatest strengths lies within its whimsy; nothing is predictable, and everything is multifaceted.  There are many moments of great creativity that spring intermittently along the track listing, facilitating inspiring instances of lyricism and technical prowess. Perhaps going so far as to call Lifer deep would be misguided, however placing jangle pop riffs inside immediate torrents of chord thrashing, mosh-pit guitar fodder is something special enough to be admired.

One of Lifer’s shining moments comes with its last track, a seven and a half minute long piece called “Even in the End.” The song’s melodic structure encompasses a vast terrain of sounds that are metaphorically akin to the topographic shift one would see walking from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic. Seamless fluidity blends together a series of well-crafted hooks that shift drastically in range and tone, in turn symbolizing Lifer’s capacity for invention. While sometimes presenting edges that are a bit too sharp (see track 8, “Toy”), Dope Body has made an interesting turn in sound with Lifer– a shift that could potentially see the outfit exploring new territory in years to come.