Punk is an idea, not a sound. 

Julian Cashwan Pratt, Harlan Steed, along with Jackie McDermott, came out with Show Me The Body’s newest album: Trouble The Water. The New York City based punk band boasts a fusion of hip hop, techno and underground hardcore in their music, and it is on display here better than ever before. Their sound is almost difficult to describe at times. For instance, the eleventh track, “WW4,” features the banjo and guitar strumming as Pratt is rapping over it. It is clear that as a punk band, the message is more important than the sound. “WW4” is also the track with a direct reference to CORPUS the music collective and outreach program that the band is heavily involved in. CORPUS is a collective of local artists from New York City, whether originally from the city or not. The group expanded as more artists joined the collective, and CORPUS has incorporated their own studio, a clothing drive, a book drive, self defense classes for anyone and even raised thousands of dollars in mutual aid for lives affected by the pandemic. 

The fight against gentrification is also at the heart of the album. Show Me the Body has a history of being involved in the underground community of New York. On the fourth track, “We Came to Play,” Pratt sings about the displacement of the local community. Pratt sings, “They don’t wanna see you come up, they shuffle around / Never let them forget that this is your town / You either know or you don’t, they don’t belong here.” 

The title song and final song on the album, “Trouble the Water” references the colloquialism meaning a disrupting and complicated situation. The song discusses what it is like to not know what to do in difficult circumstances. “My friends in front of me / Who can I trust to help me remember?” The first verse here provides a question that the chorus answers, “Don’t need help to remember / I troublе the water / I turn water to blood.” Almost claiming that the power to trouble the water is in the speaker’s hands. 

The chaotic sound is for every fan of hardcore diy music, and is available on every platform now.