CD of The Week

New York City’s BODEGA have returned with a new record, and are bringing new sounds not previously explored. Consciously avoiding genre labels, All Inside Aquarium, their fourth full length, side-steps the angular art punk reputation that preceded them, and went with something more nostalgic. Singer Ben Hozierecently told NME “I never thought of us as a post-punk band. I just thought of us as a conceptual rock band.”

And looking at them with a macro lens, “conceptual rock band” is much more accurate. Their previous full length, Our Brand Could Be Yr Life explored the concepts, hypocrisy, and capitalist intent of style over substance as it permeates the rock world and beyond. They were the sarcastic custodians who offered themselves as a package of great songs that were insignificant compared to the packaging that sold them; continuing the legacy and modus operandi of bands like Devo.

That concept, exaggerating themselves to prove a point of ridiculousness, set the stage for them to tear it all down in marvelous fashion. Where critics have consistently packaged them as post-punk, All Inside Aquarium demands an expanded vocabulary that align with a nebulous rock band. Here you will find terms like jangly, catchy, hooky, riffs, distorted, and grungy. Highlighting grunge, Hozie also told NME “The first rock music I really fell in love with was ’90s alternative rock, especially Jane’s Addiction. I wanted to make music that would make me feel the magic conjured by Jane’s and other bands from their era, when punk ideology was exploding into a more psychedelic and spiritual type of sound world.”

To that effect, the most Janes' Addiction styled song comes in the odd form of a Bob Dylan cover “Slow Train.” Perry Farrell-like vocals echo and reverberate over the loopy, heavy bass and guitars replacing the funky reggae original. And as suggested regarding alternative music’s psychedelic exploration, their title track “All Inside Aquarium” is reminiscent of 90’s band Kula Shaker, which itself channeled the psych sound of Deep Purple via their cover of “Hush.” There is a streak of brit pop in many of their tracks, where single “Pick Up The Check,” Astro Night Ride,” and “Fear not the Fear” nod to bands like Stone Roses, Super Furry Animals, and Radiohead. Now, it’s not all 90’s slackerdom. “Combustible” is a bright, upbeat song with New Pornographers jovial, bouncy energy. The twinkly synth driven “Backbeaten” follows a rollicking melody that crescendos into an anthemic chorus. And the single “Literary World” starts right off with one of the simplest, catchiest chord-changing hooks that will most likely make my year-end “best of” list.

But ok, so you want some of that post punk thing; the style of music that doesn’t have to be a label but can still be an important part of BODEGA’s sound. It may be why you first latched onto them as a band - or is a thing you’re wondering about if this is your first visit to BODEGA’s world. It seems singer Nikki Belfiglio carries that torch. She sings on “Pile Driver” with a bass heavy, rhythmic song, and eccentric flourishes that fit in a class with Guerilla Toss or Philly’s Grocer. And the funky single “Weather Me” dares you not to move and groove to the bass line and driving percussion until the chorus hits (which, yes, does sound like alt-era Veruca Salt or Garbage.

Just because BODEGA is a conceptual rock band, they don’t have to lose their substance to art. The lyrics on the record uncover truths about death and life in real and existential ways, about how to cope with life, having your own real thoughts in a world of constant information and delusion. But when asked, they told NME “We consciously chose to avoid didactic social critique songs…we wanted to explore a more psychological type of writing.” But, as this album proves, there’s no reason why they can’t achieve both.