BODi BiLL - Two in One
Review by Jack Foley
BERLIN based electro-rockers BODi BiLL arrive on these shores with the ringing endorsement of acts like Kele, of Bloc Party.
They grew up amidst the Berlin underground scene, as part of the post rock band movement and the club and DJ scene (including Melt!), and base their music largely around intricate, sometimes minimalist synth and piano movements. In frontman Fabian Fenk, they’re also said to have one of the most expressive voices of the moment.
Alas, in spite of such high recommendations and praise, their debut album Two In One fails to impress.
Initially, it suggests a hip fusion of techno and synth pop with the sharp, snappy album opener Be Home Before Dinner, all blips and breaks. While former single I Like Holden Caulfield displays their ability to create tunes that are comfortable with the term radio friendly, albeit with some more edgy – even ’80s influenced – vocals.
But thereafter, the album becomes extremely hit and miss – sometimes just plain bland, sometimes incomprehensibly bad.
The synth sound resorts to its underground roots so as to become willfully obscure at times, with only the odd track to really grab your attention and awake you from your slumber.
Hence, stripped back offerings like Tip Toe Walk and Depart Tropical go nowhere slowly, and don’t really contain any of the expression suggested in Fenk’s vocal style.
Very Small helps to rally proceedings belatedly, with a melancholy heart-on-sleeve moment, but it’s a rare moment of beauty in an otherwise terminally bland underground sound.
When Fenk ‘playfully’ announces “so fuck off” at the end of final song Willem, it’s a sentiment you may well be inclinded to agree with.
Download picks: Be Home Before Dinner, Very Small
Track listing: