First things first: I love this record. I love it for the music, for the bold statement it was, and that it worked. Expectations were ridiculously high after TWIABP released their debut full-length album Whenever, If Ever, and that was fair - it was a great album that culminated in the grandest moment yet. So how do you avoid the "difficult second album"? In this case, a mini-album collaboration with a spoken-word artist.
I remember playing the album with trepidation but being impressed from the first listen. Just afterwards I chatting to JT in Banquet, having noticed they'd just got it in stock, and found myself singing it's praises. I probably said something similar about what a wonderful way to avoid the "difficult second album" situation. I'm not sure whether other TWIABP fans get as much enjoyment out of this record as I do (and it's by-the-by really) but this and Harmlessness have become the albums I routinely play from their ever-increasing back-catalogue (Harmlessness was a grower, but this one was much more instant). It's fared well over the last four years, so I suspect I'll be enjoying it for some time yet.
Going back a bit, I was very excited when this record got announced - I'd seen TWIABP at Fest the previous Autumn and become a very big fan. I was pleased to see that a European distributer had got it's own pressing run of Between Bodies because it meant I wouldn't have to pay crazy shipping costs from the US. As a bonus result, I got the most limited pressing on half (ultra!-)clear, half black vinyl which looks excellent, especially alongside the rest of the artwork. As the label had a distro, I also ordered some other records they had, although one of the 7"s I ordered was no longer in stock, so I let them send me any 7" they wanted that cost the same amount (easier than doing a refund I figured). I was after a November Coming Fire 7" (that I've still not yet bought) but ended up with a 7" by a band called Clearer the Sky; more on that another time.
As I said at the start, the fact that this record works is noteworthy. Between Bodies could easily have sounded like a strange anomaly in their back-catalogue, but instead they created something that stands out and shows that, as a band, they can try new things and produce exciting music in whatever style they choose, something that shouldn't be taken for granted - a lot of bands would not have been so successful.
Precipice features only Chris Zizzamia's spoken-word vocals meaning that when David's voice appears at the start of Space Exploration to Solve Earthly Crises it is all the more unexpected. But before you can get too comfortable, we get both vocalists at the same time, layering their different styles brilliantly. If and When I Die is yet another curveball as it is so fast-paced on a record that is generally much slower and contemplative. Side B goes by pretty fast, as Lioness's dirge swiftly flows into Shoppers Beef with half a line of lyrics before the gentle guitar strum interrupts the soundscape, which then eventually increases to accompany David's vocals on $100 Tip; it's easy to mistake the three as one song. Autotonsorialist closes the album out as an almost post-rock number that could easily have gone on for twice as long. Perhaps leaving it so early was another intentional curveball rather than accidentally falling into the trap of closing every album with an epic sprawl.
Format: 12", poster
Tracks: 8
Cost: £12 new
Bought: Black Lake Records website
When: 23/10/14
Colour: Half clear / half black
Etching: Side A: "The distance between bodies" Side B: "Can't be measured in miles"
mp3s: Download code
