Bodysong - review

Noel Gallagher said that he was a genius. I respect his musical opinion, but I couldn't really confess to knowing that much about Jonny Greenwood before I heard this album, except that he was Radiohead's lead guitarist. I always assumed that 'the Radiohead sound'- the experimental sound that is, was either a result of the entire bands creative minds, conjoined in moments of studio magic, or perhaps just the vision of Thom Yorke or even their producer Nigel Godrich. After listening to Bodysong however, I will now generalise wildly and say that the experimental Radiohead sound comes entirely from Jonny Greenwood. Yes it is a wild generalisation, but once those soaked, rough drums and stuttering rhythms jerk your brain into a reaction, you'll begin to recognise that same genius that has imprinted itself all over the last 4 Radiohead albums.

The albums opener, 'Moon Trills', reminds me of Popeye in his most sombre moment. As the Pyramid song-style piano kicks in, I see Popeye, alone on his ship, looking for his lady whose been kidknapped by Bluto. He is staring out into the sea and wondering, "What's it all for? Do I even love her? Why am I here? What makes me strong? Where are the answers?" Popeye is deep, as deep as this music. That odd mood manages to enrich every single song on this odd album, even though every single song on this odd album sounds completely different. 'Moon Mall' rips your heart open with guitars that make you think of discovery, and when I say discovery I mean it, this actually makes you visualise yourself walking into previously unknown grand cities in space made from Ivory. This is a soundtrack, and it really is a soundtrack. Amazingly post-modern, Bodysong verges on becoming a visual experience, and that's probably the highest compliment I could pay it.

The warmth of 'Peartree' continues the revelation mood, if this music isn't grand I don't know what it is. Experimental perhaps, but I wouldn't call this an experimental album. The essence of all good experimental music must be that through it's insanity it manages to reach something coherent. The experimentalism is a vehicle towards something solid, tangible, in this case it is a vehicle towards an aura of light, discovery and awareness. Is this all sounding too pretentious? Well go and buy the album, tell me you don't feel it too. Try and listen to it as background music, tell me how you failed. It's too intense not to be noticed, and those rewarding moments of calm and reflection are all too often broken up with the wildest saxaphones, the most intense violins, distorted drums and insane rhythms that all come together to ensure the album remains interesting and engaging.

Bodysong probably isn't the aesthetic musically-luscious feast of milk chocolate that I may have described it as here, but your opinion of it will really depend on how much you like ambient music, and how forgiving you are of wild (and I mean WILD) experimentation within that ambient genre. And even having said that, this isn't really ambient music, it's just music, but ambient is the possibly closest approximation one could give without playing the whole album to you. Personally, I see real experimentation as one of the most important elements in music, and it's by that standard that I judge this album as finely crafted and intelligent. It's definitely not easy, but it is worth it.

Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi