There is something about the journey through adulthood that makes some of us crave a departure from the mundane. The humdrum noise of everyday rituals can drown out the soul’s deepest desires. For some folks, life is simply a matter of making it through each day unscathed, but there are others that possess a sincere desire to envision existence as something more meaningful and everlasting.
Back in the day, not sure which day exactly…but some day, people used to sing their passions. They would belt out letters to the Lord or whatever higher power they invested the time into. The human spirit was free and empowered by song.
Modern indie music doesn’t get much of this intense stirring of the ethereal mind. There’s plenty of emoting that goes on, but rarely is there a band that consists of musicians just singing their hearts right out into the heavens above. Lucky for us, California has laid claim to a band so matchless and awesomely talented that it makes you want to sing “Amen!”
Swim ashore and meet the answer to prayers you didn’t even know you had. Bodies of Water is primarily a quartet of four friends (two of which are married); David and Meredith Metcalf, Jessica Conklin and Kyle Gladden. Over the years their musical entourage has soared to numbers as high as eleven, proving that their sound is so infectious and moving that others want to play along.
The origin of the band is quite simple. David Metcalf had been playing in bands off and on since the age of 17 or 18. He had a string of random and sometimes oddball jobs before he decided to delve back into making some tunes. The rest, they say, is history. “I had been just kind of messing around playing stuff at home and Meredith starting getting more involved in it. We recruited the others -- to make it happen in terms of playing live -- and that’s kind of how it happened. We were initially doing it to hang out with friends and play music. It wasn’t something we really considered doing seriously or as a living.”
Whether they meant to or not, Bodies of Water has created some of the most bold and thought-provoking music in the indie rock world. Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink is a sometimes joyous and sometimes somber outcry of inspiration. The songs are a dramatic presentation of neo-gospel musings strategically intermingled with an over-the-top feel of musicals and subdued indie rock lullabies.
The band’s obvious talent shows what a truly organic and divine experience playing in Bodies of Water must be. In fact, aside from David, none of the band members really had many hours racked up in the instrument-playing department. “I was the only member who really knew how to play an instrument when we started. Kyle knew how to play the guitar a little and played violin when he was younger. But Meredith and Jessie just picked it up as we went along.”
Despite the hard work and dedication they put into their music, there seems to be a genuine ease to the band’s creative process. Says David, “Usually I bring a skeleton of the song to everyone else and we decide together on everyone's parts, how to get from one section to another, and the general path that the song ought to follow. I go off by myself and write the words. Once in a while, lyrics get shouted down, but usually everyone is accepting of them.” Their method is so empowering and communal that it’s almost as if this is the path they’ve meant to be following all along.
David’s lyrics are insightful, poetic, and subtly humorous. To hear them sung by Meredith and Jessie is even more intense -- their voices angelic and sincere. Songs like “Our Friends Appear Like the Dawn” and “It Moves” are layers of fragmented beauty. There are so many snippets of sound throughout these songs that crescendo into an orb of thunderous intensity that it leaves the listener feeling each movement as a separate and distinct fragment filled to the brim with jubilant revelation. One can only imagine what an experience it is to see Bodies of Water in a live setting.
While listeners may take with them lessons learned, questions answered or motivation to seek divinity and free will, each member of Bodies of Waters has a different approach to how they make their music. Whether it’s soul-searching, trying to make words that last forever, or just having fun -- their music stands alone and sends a message that the path to take is the one that stirs your passions and opens your mind. As Metcalf simply states, “I believe that if you don't feel like what you're doing has a resonance to it, then you're wasting your time.”
--Brigitte B. Zabak
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Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink is available now.
http://www.bodiesofwater.net
http://www.myspace.com/bodiesofwater
