Survive EP - Show Me The Body: Review

Show Me The Body

is a New York hardcore band who first turned heads in 2016 with their raw, explosive debut album Body War. The group has proven a remarkable versatility for executing a number of hardcore styles across their career and the unpredictability is a core element of their sound. 

Review By Lav:

I haven't kept up with Show Me The Body as much as I should have in the years since their debut, while I did hear all the music they released I didn't get around to reviewing any of them and I wish I had. Now that the band appears to be back in full swing starting with this EP I had some catching up to do and I'm glad I did. These three tracks are versatile, explosive and unconventional in a way that keeps me on my toes even when the performances don't necessarily do it on their own. 

Rubberband is up first and its an absolutely sludgy blur of heavy instrumentation to kick the EP off. It features industrial drumming and heavy distorted slurring guitars that eventually pick up the pace in the second half while also bringing on some shrill wiry guitar work. The whole thing is explosive hard-hitting and unwaveringly intense start. People On TV starts out with some incredibly eerie planky keys and evocative opening lyrics. 

    "Everyone on TV sure knows how to die, everyone at home sure knows how to cry"

The song is instrumentally steady throughout the track which surprised me but it's hard for such a harsh sound to get old given how much the instrumentation bleeds together in the sea of fuzz. I do think the vocals could have either been more prevalent in the mix or performed with a little bit more ferocity to match the songs otherwise intense sound.  Survive is the most in the moment and destructive track of the bunch with intensely confrontational lyricism and performance that sound as intent on destroying their instruments as playing them. This results in a fiery and furious finale that shifts in style numerous times without ever really feeling like it skips a beat in its themes or style. 

Survive is a short but intense trio of raw, punk flavored hardcore music that bounces between styles with ease. While not all of its moments are of equal intensity the project as a whole has a brutal charm throughout its runtime that has me excited for what direction the band will head in next. 7/10

Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:

I enjoy this cover. I think it's a cool photograph and uses the composition differently than most center weighted covers. The leading lines of the tiles move your eye directly to the dice and the heavy vignette is a nice spotlight to them as well. I'm not living for the color, it sort of looks like a basic vintage Instagram preset. While there's no text I think that there's ample room in the bottom right or top left corner for some sort of type so this could stand apart from just regular photography. 7/10

For more hardcore check out my review of The Body's I've Seen All I Need To See here